Kanae's List
by xhuizini
Summary: AU"If I prepare a list for my grocery and shopping, Isn't it just as sensible to write a list when I'm picking the right guy?"  That's what Kotonami Kanae thought after being dumped by her boyfriend right at the day of her wedding, First story...
1. Chapter 1

_**To anyone who's reading this for the first time… This is an AU, I've tried to keep them IC but I still have inserted OC okay.. Please don't be too harsh and leave a review… My first story… (^_^)**_

Kotonami Kanae is usually a woman who possess a great control over herself; normally she doesn't resort to drinking when she has a problem but she made an exception on her wedding day. To be exact, it was the day her wedding was supposed to have been. Opening her third bottle of champagne.

"To my groom!" she said, drinking the champagne that had been an advanced gift for her wedding. With mix frustration, hatred, and sadness, she threw the bottle against the wall and smugly smiled as she heard the crash and tinkle of glass shattering.

_**May he rot in hell together with the woman he chose over me...**_

He left me in the altar for sanity's sake, not to mention the damn letter he sent in replacement of him.

_**Dear Kanae-chan**_

_**If you're reading this, I may be already on the plane. I'm leaving for good, I know I'm being cruel to do this especially on the day of your wedding but I've put much thought about this. Were not meant for each other, I'm sorry, she needs me more than you do, having said that, she's still my son's mother.. You're a strong woman, you can overcome this. You can find someone better than me.**_

_**Please, try to find it in your heart to forgive me…**_

_**Sho**_

Just as if the huge embarrassment on her wedding day wasn't enough he'd had to send a letter to console her too. _'So you flew to the other side of the world huh, you're really proving yourself a coward. It's a good thing, I don't have parents, and otherwise, I might reconsider chasing you to the ends of the earth to kill you.'_It was also thanks to her two closest friends, Kyoko and Chiori who had helped her out of this whole ordeal, any other normal girl who had been left alone in the altar humiliated in front of a hundred or so guests who consisted mostly of her co-workers in the industry, from p.a.'s to cameramen, to directors and producers, must have felt devastated enough to commit suicide, but not this girl, not this woman, not her. Definitely not.

Though today, she just might need more champagne to keep her disappointments away and maybe tomorrow she might return to her calm, composed and cool self and surely after two days she can return to work again. With those thoughts in mind, she walked the four steps towards her refrigerator to reach for another bottle, and to settle for the comfort of her couch that is until she got a glimpse of the picture on top of her flat screen television. It was of her, Sho and Tomo-kun(1), on family day. She inwardly smirked, _'Yeah, right, that damn, useless, spineless, cowardly fool, he knows that I have no family, so he's been using Tomo-kun all along'_.

Inwardly, she cursed herself, She was trying to forget all the things that links her to Sho and that picture just have to show itself, mocking her, surprisingly due to all the drama that had happened today, Kanae seemed to have grasped the events that happened on that day she met him, to her it seemed like it's all a series of connected events, and now she was wondering if the time she met Tomo-kun was just coincidence too, it was still fresh in her memory as if it was only yesterday.

_**Flashback**_

_It was a bright Tuesday morning and she, being the organize morning person she is, just came back from her usual jogging routine around the exclusive neighborhood, where she currently resides. She was already preparing to take a bath and go straight to her monthly salon visit when a tone from her cell phone alerted her to the message,_

_"_I miss you, babe. Let's meet at Herald's place (2) for breakfast. My treat_"_

_Kanae and Sho were already a couple back then, but to her it was simply a fling, a temporary shelter. She needed a boyfriend to shoo away the growing number of unnecessary suitors. Fortunately, one of the select suitors who passed her standards was Fuwa Sho, an upcoming musician who recently got famous, all thanks to his latest songs hitting the top of the charts. Besides being famous, handsome and hot, Kanae chose him because they shared something in common- they're both ambitious so that means they put career on the top of their priority list even before love. She needed someone exactly like that, someone with the same mindset as hers. That way, she doesn't need to consider her relationship with him as something that needs maintaining. To cut the long story short, it will help her without getting in the way of her dreams._

_Bearing that in mind, she leisurely took her time bathing and making herself beautiful. After taking the time of her life picking the most suitable wardrobe for today, she reached for her car keys beneath her life-size mirror and within a couple of minutes was driving her way towards the meeting area._

_It didn't took our raven haired lass to much time to pick out her date while she was making her way towards the park, even with the disguise—he was wearing a black wig, ray-ban shades and casual jeans paired with printed shirt. The way he stood and his cool demeanor already granted him quite a few glances from the women and even men loitering there._

"Hey, have you been waiting long?"_She asked, finally facing him, giving him the sweetest smile she could muster._

"Do you know what time it is already?"_he said through gritted teeth._

"8:20?" _She stated matter-of-factly, showing him her wristwatch._

"Very funny, it took you one and a half-hour to get here with your car"_he replied, sarcastically not giving the issue up._

"Ok, I know, sorry! I have a reputation to uphold, you know?"_swirling in front of him, letting her perfect black hair flow freely._

"Whatever, Let's go" _he grabbed her hands and the two walked straight to Kanae's car, though this time, Sho would be driving._

_That was the time she met Tomo._

_Unstrapping the seatbelt, Kanae took a glance at the surroundings, 'Why are we in a primary school?' before she could have the time to voice her thoughts however, her boyfriend had already stepped out of the car and is a good five meters ahead of her. It was as if he is excited to meet someone, judging by the light in his eyes at the moment. Her fast mind started running again, 'Oh, so he has another girl here huh? He even had an eye for those freckled, outdated, straight-laced maidens called teachers? God, What a playboy!' It's a smart thing she didn't take this relationship seriously, or else she wouldn't want his guy toying around with other girls._

_When she reached the wide lawn of the school, she instantly knew that they were having a program or something of the sort. Booths were set around the whole lawn, there were balloons and a group of primary brats running around wherever you look._

"_What are we doing he—"_

"_Papa!" Kanae glanced at the direction of the voice, it was a third grader boy with aquamarine as his eye color and a round face framed with straight jet black hair. He was running towards her direction, her gaze followed the kid's form until it hugged the man beside her._

_Her brown eyes widened in shock as she heard the kid called "Papa" again, only this time she is ninety-nine point nine percent sure the kid was calling Sho his dad. Before she could say something, he cut in._

"I'm sure you're shock, I can explain later just please don't make a scene"

"Me? Make a scene, you bet I will, How dare you lie to me like this,"_she huffed indignantly, few pairs of eyes glancing their way then returned back to what they're doing._

"Calm down, people are looking_…" he whispered_

_She was about to ignore him when a tiny voice interrupted her._

_"Papa, who is she?" The kid asked, looking intently at Kanae._

"Tomo, mind your manners, she's my…. She's my… my uhh…"

'_What the hell, Now he didn't even know how to introduce me to his son, I swear after this I'd really break with him, I don't need complications that's why I chose him to be my boyfriend, but now he's becoming more trouble than his worth.'_

"Is she my mom?"_now it's Sho's turn to be shock but gently corrected him saying…_

"No, he's papa's friend,"_glancing the lass sideways as if saying to ride along._

_However, sadness and disappointment quickly made its way to the child's face…_"Oh, so she's not my mom…_" he grabbed the hem of his father's shirt and said_, "Let's just go Dad, I want to go home"

"Wait, don't you have a program at school today?" "Why do you want to go home, we just got here…?"

_The kid was hesitant at first but slowly responded with words that would melt even the hardest and coldest of hearts,_

"If mom's not here were not a family, so what's the point of attending family day…"

_The energy seemed to leave the child as soon as he said those words, judging by the sudden paleness that showed in his face._

_By the time she realized what she was doing though; Kanae stopped the child from leaving._

_"Hey, Kid"_

_The said child looked up; with a single stride she is now in front of him sitting so, he can meet Tomo eye to eye._

"Listen kid…"

"I have a name, its Tomo, Stop calling me kid" "

_Slight shock registered in her face,_"Ok, Listen, Tomo, cut the whining… I know you want to attend this thing, otherwise you wouldn't look like some pathetic kid who has been deprived of lollipop."

_No reaction, a sigh escaped the woman's lips_, "Ok, in simple terms so even a kid like-"

"Tomo!"_was the persistent reply._

"I know, I know… so even you Tomo could understand, your father and I made it out of our way to visit you, now if you could just stop whining like a baby…"

"I'm not a baby!"

"Could you let me finish first?"_A_pause "I don't know much about life lessons but isn't a family composed of members caring for each other, like you and your dad, right?"

_A nod from the child_

"Then you could also be classified as family right"

_Nod again_

"So would you be a good kid and come back inside?"

"Ok, I will but…"

_Another but, another problem, Kanae was starting to get irritated._

_"But what?"_

_"Will you join us?" She was slightly taken aback; she stole a furtive glance at the man beside the kid as if saying 'You didn't teach this child didn't you?' Tugs at her dress however caused her to look back at Tomo again, his eyes expectant. 'Oh, how could she turn down such an innocent invitation coming from a cute kid?'_

"Is that all, Fine by me."

_Tomo's eyes lit up again and excitedly ran back to where his classmates are._

_Two arms snaked its way around her as an embrace_, "I didn't know a stubborn woman like you could do such a thing."

"What thing?"_she replied innocently._

"Never mind,"_a pause_"Thank you."

"Don't be too happy, this is the last favor this stubborn woman will do for you." _She squirmed out of the man's hug and hopefully out of the man's life but she had been wrong, all it takes is just one time to give in._

_**End of Flashback**_

It may be due to some sort of spell but after the family day, Kanae lost count of all the other _'days'_which she had attended all because of Tomo's pleas, ranging from career day up to even his grandmother's birthday. She got completely hooked and had let her guard down, had taken a liking to the kid, had fallen in love with the father who took her heart out only to return it to her in pieces…

Now, Kanae knew better, men aren't meant to be trusted, especially men who comes with packages. They knew that women by instinct have soft spot for a kid that's why they use it to their advantage. Incidentally for her, kids like Tomo spell danger, she has no more family- all the more reason why she is very vulnerable and weak towards kids who are experiencing the same episode as hers.

'_I've got It!'_ the lass thought triumphantly, having opened five bottles of champagne she kind of came to a resolve. "If I just stopped trusting all men completely and banished them out of my li- "

"Wait, banish guys for real? No way, why should I do that? I'm not Kyoko"

All of a sudden a hint of realization dawned upon our intoxicated princess, she didn't have to do the extreme of closing off men, she just have to be a little wiser. She promise from this day forward she'll never fall for the old tricks of guys like Sho again. Never and when had she thought of it, never will she help motherless children again, no matter how helpless they look or how similar they are to her. Simply put, she will avoid them at all costs; it's not going to be that hard, considering she's not working at a primary school or her place of work alone, there's a 98% chance that she'll meet someone who will rise above her standards. The more she thought of it, the better she felt. Now if only she could remember these things when she gets sober. Right then, a brilliant idea popped in her mind, something that will remind her of this newfound conclusion. As she staggered through the bedroom and dug through her drawer for a notepad she wrote:

Kotonami Kanae's hints of her Ideal Man

He will be:

1. More than just a pretty face

2. Single, not single parent

3. Reliable, does not need to be ordered around.

4. A career oriented person

5. Living in a pretty large house with pool or a condominium

Please with her efforts, Kanae read the list out loud, "Am I brilliant or what?" She skimmed the list again, "Just one last thing—"

6. Hot

"There," she said adding a final period with the tip of her pen, before returning back to the couch. _'I can't just pick anyone right?'_


	2. Chapter 2

A/n: Thank you those who had read this so far and patiently waited for it, I'll upload the continuation tomorrow…. (*promise sign*)

enjoy! (^_^)

**Disclaimer**_**: I forgot this the last time…. Skip Beat is not mine, isn't it?**_

Monday morning, Kanae posted the list above her life size mirror inside her bedroom, where she would see it every time.

Kyoko, her bestfriend, discovered it right away as she'd known she would. But being her discreet self did not read it, and just simply walked away and thought of it as something like her grocery list. However, Chiori, on the other hand, always had an opinion. She responded to _Kotonami Kanae Hints of her Ideal Man_ with amusement in her voice, "A product of soul searching isn't it? Care to explain?"

She snatched the list back and responded with a frown.

Undaunted, the girl just merely raised her perfectly shaped eyebrows. "Must have been drinking a lot, you're not as sharp tongued as usual"

"I couldn't just throw away good champagne, right?" Kanae said, unaffected by her friend's witty remarks.

"Humph!" A pause, "I knew it, all cry and no play makes Kanae a dull girl all day"

"You mean, all work and no play make Jack a dull kid…"

"Whatever, They're the same" she dismissed her and gave the list a careful reading.

"So you're looking for a _'rich guy'_ now."

"I'd prefer to call it my _economic and emotional equal_"

Chiori decided to sank bank onto the couch, "Don't you think this is _**too much?"**_

_**"**_From now on," Kanae said firmly "I won't be swayed to pick a guy that is longer than my standards"

"O-kay"

"I mean it, girl, A wise woman can only be tricked once to learned her lesson, otherwise she's better off believing in fairy tales"

"You've had some bad moments," Chiori conceded.

"Some? Yeah, right! Just what I need during these crucial moments in my career is just _'some moments'_ like that"

"Whatever. It's your love life. But I really think you can't keep this list. After all, lists are meant to be broken."

"It's promises"

Chiori didn't catch Kanae's teasing… "Well, if you're serious about it, you ought to be real interested in seeing the project Director Okuya is offering, it's lead actor Hiou Uesugi especially requested for you to be his co-star."

"And just who is this Hiou Uesugi?"

Chiori rolled her eyes, "God! Don't you do anything besides memorizing scripts? Just Hiou Uesugi, the third generation of a long line of Japanese actors. He is the grandchild of international martial arts star, Uesugi Kotetsu, and the child of prominent Japanese actors, Uesugi Ryutaro and Nabatame Yuuko. I think you'd probably be interested in him."

"You think he's in my list"

"He's gorgeous, single and rich"

"No kids, no ex-wives"

"Just all that money and all those degrees from all the right schools."

"Well then, maybe I ought to take this offer." A sly smile forming itself in her lips, as she thought of it.

"You got a date tomorrow morning 6:30… he asked me to tell you to come"

"Wow, I'm impressed…"

"Of course, who else but me could think of such a thing…"

Kanae could just agree in her mind, anyway out of the two Chiori and Kyoko, Chiori is much closer to think of things like this.

_*****Yashiro and Ren along the wide highways of xxxx somewhere in Japan*****_

It was a very quiet evening as Ren drove along the wide highways of Tokyo, catching a glimpse of his manager, who is busy checking his notepad for his talent's schedule and texting at the same time. He's waiting to consult him about what Director Ogata is saying earlier, unfortunately, Yashiro was too occupied texting when…

"Ren, say what you want. Stop that creepy stare of yours" Yashiro faced his talent slash friend. For three years of handling him, he can already tell whether the latter was going to ask him something judging by the look on his face or simply with his gestures.

"So?" A sigh, "Do you have plans for tomorrow?"

"Wha- what?" The brown haired guy almost choked upon hearing his question, something in his tone made his body hair stood on ends, Ren is being weird again and what's worse he may become the target of his weirdness.

_'What is he up to? Trying to ask me out? Had he given up on Kyoko-chan that easily so he redirected his affections towards me? NO!' his face took on a horror-stricken appearance._

Ren managed to suppressed a giggle as he saw the discomfort and fear crept up to his manager's face, "Why the sudden reaction, I'm just asking if you are free or not?" He put on a serious face, it was unbelievably funny to tease the latter, he must be thinking that I'm hitting on him; Fortunately, he secretly expressed his gratitude to his superb acting talents.

_'So this is how he felt when he was pulling his leg about Kyoko… This is really fun, he should do this often'_

As flustered as Yashiro was by the sudden 'eccentricity' in Ren's words, he responded almost too quickly with…

"I'm free, yes, but I don't see any reason why you should know that and even if you're Japan's No. 1 sexiest actor, I have to refuse to whatever you are implying… I'm sorry I don't swing that way…"

Ren could not hold it anymore, he parked the car and burst out laughing, holding his hand in his stomach.

"You actually believe it?" Yashiro, realizing he had been had could only reply with the wittiest remark he could think of at the moment.

"As much as I admired your acting prowess that had led you to pull such a prank, I don't believe I'd see the day that you'd do something so childish…" A pause, Ren thought his manager had been mad at him, that he stopped laughing altogether.

"Did that scare you? I'm sorry, I really didn't mean it I—" Then he noticed the shaking of his manager's shoulders… he felt guilty… _'Is he crying? Yashiro-san?'_

"Hmmm… Pfft! Hahahaha, of course not! How was I? Could I pass as an actor should I get tired of being _'your'_ manager?"

"Far from mine, but yes it could suffice… Oh by the way, what I wanted to say was about what Director Ogata told me earlier"

"That so? What did he say?"

"That we're behind filming"

"I already know that, what about it?"

"So I agreed for another shooting day for tomorrow"

"You what...?" Yashiro shrieked, making Ren cover his ears in futile attempt to protect it from possible deafness.

"No need to shout, calm down"

"Calm down? You expect me to calm down? You've been working for four days straight, are you a masochist? Give yourself a break!" Though in his mind it was more like, _'Calm down? You expect me to calm down? I've been working for four days straight; Are you a sadist? Give me a break!'_

However, Ren being the living robot as he is, simply just commented that it was _**his job**_ to rearrange his schedule should something ever happened to him.

_'Whoever said that being the manager of a superstar is something to be envied?'_ He inwardly thought. He was looking forward to this free day and nothing, he mean it, nothing will stood in his way in obtaining it. He smiled mentally as the idea flashed across his mind like a light in the black space of his mind.

**A/N: one more thing, I forgot last time, please review…. Thanks… (^_^)**


	3. Chapter 3

_**I'm really sorry. I deeply apologize it had been ages ago since I updated this. Seriously, I have been thinking to drop this but I just can't bring myself to do it to my first story… Anyway... These previous days I have been a bit dry on the idea department and so I just wandered to read some fic on the other fandom and whoosh… because of all the creative authors there.. I finally got motivated to continue… I will update tomorrow I promise…**_

It was exactly one hour, five minutes and two seconds and still counting as our raven-haired lass remember it. If her memory serves her right, which it usually does, the time that she was supposed to meet with this Hio guy is at seven a.m., glancing at her watch, she almost pop a blood vessel when the figures of 8:06 greeted her, and even the guy's shadow had yet to appear. She is starting to get irritated as the seconds tick by, ranging from her late meet up, to the unsettling gaze from other customers, to the annoying waiter that keeps on asking for her order for every f#!^ng five minutes, for the scorching summer heat outside. Oh! She could still think of a million complaints about her current predicament when her cell phone rang.

"Hi! Beautiful! Good morning.." chirped a very lively Chiori Amamiya from the other end.

"I can't see anything good about this morning…" was her quick reply, putting in all the sarcasm she could send through the line.

"What's with the sour mood so early in the morning?"

Kanae suddenly stopped for a moment before speaking her mind," Don't tell me … you forgot that it was YOU who asked me to come here at this shop right?" She is assuming the worst but is still wishing that her assumption was wrong or she'll be really pissed.

"You mean, you're still at the shop right now?

"You mean, it totally slipped your mind that I have been waiting here for almost an hour?" The annoyed Kanae replied in perfect irritation of Chiori's surprised-I-didn't-know type of voice.

"Didn't you receive my message earlier? I told you; Hio-san informed that he couldn't come today… I am sure I've sent you a message."

"Wait" She quickly glanced at her mobile phone and saw at the upper left corner—a blinking white envelope icon—symbol for an unread message.

"I did send you a message, right?"

She got kind of irked by the 'see-I -told-you –so' tone being used, not wanting to be outwitted she countered with "If you have time to call me like this, shouldn't you have called me to tell me the meeting is cancelled instead?"

"So, you admit that you forgot to read the message I sent you?" Kanae could swear that she heard a small stifled giggle from the other end.

"Is that the issue here?"

Ignoring her comment, Chiori told her that she's being called by her manager and hung up..

"Hello, Amamiya? Hello?" 'What the! How dare she hang up on me? Wait till I get a hold of you' .She quickly walked up to the counter and paid for a takeout latte before exiting while on the way scaring a lot of people with the permanent murderous aura flowing out from her.

_***2 hours earlier…at Yashiro's apartment***_

Yashiro can't help but smile at the childish antics of Tsuruga Ren, as he saw the 25 consecutive messages displayed when he opened his cell, all having the same content. Ren must've figured out that he wouldn't answer his calls and so the resort to texting.

_'Did you ask Mogami-san to substitute for you? AGAIN?'_

The young manager can't help but smile wider at the message._'Ah, so he must've seen my gift already'_ As usual, when Yashiro feels the demands of his tiring job build up he always have the perfect solution to take a break from it—even if it meant exploiting the fact that Kyouko cannot refuse a friend's request or let Ren to fend for himself.

He looked at his wristwatch—6:00, as expected of Kyouko-chan, punctual as always. He can only imagine Ren being shocked to open the door and be greeted by his beloved Kyouko-chan. He quickly tapped on the keys of his cell to provide Ren a reply that would satisfy him…

_'Uwaahhh… Kyouko0chan sure is a nice girl, I just told her that I'm sick today and am really worried who'll assist you for the time being, who would've thought she'll volunteer herself without being asked…?'_

_Enjoy ^_^_

It was less than five seconds after he pushed the send button on his cell, when continuous ringing of the doorbell was heard…

'Who could it possibly be so early in the morning?'

He strode towards the door and abruptly opened it and was beyond shock as two pair of arms wrapped itself in his waist and a pair of two round amber eyes greeted him and uttered happily, "Good morning, Daddy!"

_A/N:_

_I have already written the next chapter, at first it wasn't supposed to turn out this way, but minor accidents happened and so... I found myself writing this..._


	4. Chapter 4

_**Hi guys, It's me xhuizini again… I hope you still find this story interesting… Please let me know if I need to improve on something. If you find something weird about some pairings, well I just needed them so, yeah. I've inserted some outside characters to complete the story. I just need them so please don't be angry…**_

**Disclaimer: I don't own the story, only the plot, OC characters etc.**

'_I must be hearing things'_Yashiro thought. It seems that what had just transpired is too big and shocking for his delicate mind to process.

He glanced over his kitchen counter to look at the source of his problems; _'Yup, I'm not hearing things or seeing things…'_ who is now busy helping herself with the food from his fridge.

Herself? Yeah, the kid is a girl

Glancing at the young girl, he could easily infer that the girl must be of 10 yrs old. If that's the case then the kid must've been conceived ten years ago then that must've mean that he met the kid's mother when he was 18, but that's impossible; Just Impossible. _'Did I met a certain woman when I was 18'_

Well, while he may not be the most gorgeous man on the planet, he definitely doesn't look like the back of a bus. He also had his fair share of women, _'but just who could it possibly be?'_

_'Aaargh!'_ he mentally screamed, no matter how much he racked his brain no one comes to mind. He had never been good with reminiscing, after all his two mottos were- **past is past and never look back.** Besides, this is just too bad to be true, like a scene straight form a TV drama. _'He's living the perfect, well, maybe not so perfect but still almost perfect life and then out of nowhere a young girl appears claiming to be his daughter?__It's just impossible; something's really fishy here…'_he peered at the girl from the book he was pretending to read and narrowed his eyes in suspicion.

"Stop it" the young girl said, without even bothering to take her eyes on the food

"No matter how many times you stare at me Dad, it's not like I'll just disappear from here or you'll wake up relieve to know that it's just a bad dream"

A tennis ball could easily fit into the manager's mouth as he gaped in disbelief at what he just heard, _'The kid is even reading my mind'_

"Anyway, couldn't you just be happy that after being miserable and lonely for a decade, your very lovely and adorable long lost daughter had come to find you…?" This time the girl commented looking him straight in the eye with a spark of amusement dancing on her own, as she got up to put the dishes away.

However, the girl's remark had just faded into the background as Yashiro was too engrossed tuning into his newly formed inner debate - in the shape of two chibi look alike of himself; One in an angel's robe signifying the pure and compassionate side of him and the other in a devil red robe advocate of his bad and logical half.

_"You have a daughter, that's just wonderful"_the angel commented.

_"You didn't even know if she's really your daughter, what if the kid's lying…"_the devil whispered.

_"Kids don't lie, just look at her doesn't she look a tad bit like you?"_The angel added hopefully.

_"Oh please, a lot of people look alike, maybe she's one of those street kids whose out to get some easy money by fooling idiots like you…"_the devil chimed again_._

_"There's only one way to find out, ask her mother's name. I'll guarantee you she's your daughter 100 %"_the angel confidently suggested.

_"No need to ask, you'll just be giving her a chance to lie on your face. Besides, if she's your daughter, why only show up now_?" the devil pointed out.

_"Maybe there's been a problem?"_the angel countered.

_"Oh, of course there's a problem… It's sitting right at your kitchen"_the devil piped in then added,_"You don't need another complication in your life… just throw her out…"_the devil suggested, smiling inwardly.

_"No, you can't be that heartless"_pleaded the angel as it vanished into thin air and disappeared from his mind.

_"It's not being heartless, It's called being wise…Remember that_…" and with that the devil disappeared too.

Yashiro is now officially more confused than ever but he took a step closer towards the girl, clearing his throat as if by doing so he could build the courage to say what he wanted to say…

"I need to ask you something…"

"Sure thing, Dad…"

However, the question practically dissolved in his head, the same time something clicked inside him. Suddenly, rows of images popped in his mind to form a scenario he thought he had forgotten years ago…

_**Flashback**_

_"Mana…mi… *huff*…. *huff* Manami!"_

_Said girl turned around to search for the source of the voice and found her friend running towards her._

"Yuki, Why are you here? You have classes today…"

"If I… h..ad *huff* gone to *huff*… class I wouldn't… have seen you off"

_A sudden tinge of sadness flashed inside the girl's eyes but she kept silent as she face the direction of the approaching train_…" It's been a fantastic stay Yuki, I'll be going now…"

"Wait"_he quickly scribbled on a piece of paper and handed it to her,_"Take this"

_The note which in fact was a picture of the two of them taken during their first 'date'_

_In it, the note read…_

"I'll look forward to your next visit…"

"Sure thing, Yuki" _and with that she gave him her sweetest and sincerest smile which unknown to Yashiro would be the last as she entered the bullet train and disappeared from his sight._

_**End of Flashback**_

_Those eyes…_

_That smile …_

_Those words…_

His face registered another level of shock if that its even possible as he stared at the girl in front of him. It had been plain as the nose on his face—the girl is like the very replica of Manami if not only younger.

The girl, on the other hand, watched him amusedly as transitions of varied emotions showed in his face, as realization finally dawned on him.

"Ah! Your face betrays you've remembered something, what is it tell me?"

"…"

"Seen the resemblance between me and my mom?"

_**Silence**_

"People have been telling me since I was young, that I look like a younger version of her…" she told him in a matter-of-fact tone, then added, " I was beginning to wonder how long it's going to take you to figure it out…"

Noticing Yashiro's silence, she prodded him…

"Dad? Hello? Reality calling Dad?"

And as if on cue, the spaced out guy turned to face her, disbelief written on his facial features, secretly wishing he had just landed on a very wrong discovery…" You're Manami's daughter?"

An eager nod verified his question followed by…" Well, I'm _**your**___and Mom's… I mean... Manami's daughter to be exact. Name's Mika… cute name, right? I know cause…-"

Unfortunately, Yashiro didn't get to hear the rest of the lively chatter as the next thing he knew, everything was black which gave way to cries of 'Dad, Oi, dad, wake up'

_*****Kanae inside the mall...*****_

"WHAT?"

The orange haired girl had to keep the cell she was holding a good one meter away or else she might be compelled to visit an ear specialist for the first time in her life, as her auditory senses couldn't take much of the ear splitting shriek that is spilling from the other end of the line. It was none other than her best friend in the Love Me section of LME.

"But Mouko-san, I already told you—"Kyouko tried to explain but she was interrupted.

"Don't try to smooth talk you're way out of this… You said you'll accompany me for lunch… You promised…" Kanae demanded, her tone not lowering an octave as she added, "Anyway, wasn't your taping scheduled for tomorrow, why are you working? Don't tell me... You are purposely avoiding me?"

Kyouko could never remember an incident where she tried to _'smooth talk'_ her friend but that's not what is important here. From the other end of the line, she could swear that she could literally hear disappointment from the other girl's voice…

'_Is Mouko-san actually sad that I won't be able to accompany her?"_

'_This is rare; Mouko-san did look forward to our time together!'_

"Hey, Kyouko, you still there?"

'_Though it's too sad that Mouko-san thinks I'm purposely avoiding her… I wouldn't do that of course, why she would think of that is beyond me…?'_

"Kyouko! Don't space out when I'm talking to you…" Kanae snapped angrily, " Mou!" But before Kanae could ask what kept Kyouko's time table occupied on what was supposed to be one of her rare breaks, when she heard an oh-so-familiar voice seeped through the other end of the line.

She need not be a genius to know who the owner of the voice is. Fortunately for someone as gifted as her, not only texts once read are easy to memorized. It also includes voices once heard, especially if the owner of that voice is someone she really hates. Surge of irritation flowed through the lass, as she recognized the voice to be from Tsuruga Ren.

"Are you with Tsuruga right now?" She purposely left the honorary; It's not like she respects him or _worships_him like Kyouko does…

"Eh, how did you know…?"was Kyouko's surprised reply.

_'He is freaking calling your name in a very loud voice, enough for anyone you're talking on the other end to feel uneasy as if they were an interruption'_ but of course she didn't voice that one out, instead she dismissed her in her usual I-don't-care tone "Nothing… I just… know, seeing as you're busy, I'll call you later" and with that she pressed the end call button not giving Kyouko any chance to speak.

She didn't want to admit it but somehow she felt upset, just _a little bit upset_—it's not like she expected Kyouko to ditch Ren from whatever they are doing and come to her lunch instead. She mentally shook her head, anyway, there's no need to brood over things she has no power to control. She'll just eat lunch on her own.

_'Who said that you need company while eating?'_

However as she walked slowly to the restaurant two words kept on insisting on her mind… _'I do…'_

_**Yay! Chapter 4 finished… I'll post Chapter 5 Tomorrowy… I'm feeling really motivated so… yeah…**_

_**Thank you to those who reviewed, alerted and favorite this story… I need your ideas as to evaluate how I did…Please *inserts puppy eyes***_


	5. Chapter 5

_*****Yashiro's POV*****_

"Come on Dad, you're so slow…" I tried my best not to grimaced at the choice of address my daughter, Mika had used to call me. I still hadn't gotten to the point of anyone calling me Dad, moreover from a daughter I never knew I had until from early this morning when she just barged in and insisted that she is INDEED my daughter. However, I just felt this teeny bit of my good conscience telling me that there's no need in denying it further, because after my silly not to mention truly embarrassing 'passing –out-due-to-shock' moment, it seemed that my perceptive self is finally resurfacing, enabling me to connect the dots from the pieces of information from the girl and the flood of images and scenes my memory had supplied to me, it seems that our tryst really did bear fruit and that no matter how I close my eyes to the truth or try to assemble the pieces in a hundred roundabout ways or so, I'd still arrive to the same conclusion- that Mika is my daughter.

And now that the mystery of our connection has finally come to a close, not that it's open for debate or something. Another batch of questions suddenly assaulted my mind…

'_**Why would Manami keep it a secret from me that I have a child? We did end on good terms, after all that happened, so why?'**_

'_**Why would the kid after ten years of being fatherless suddenly decides to find me'**_

'_**How on earth did she manage to find me?'**_

_Oh wait, that doesn't sound right, it will look like I'm hiding from her, from responsibility._

I mentally shook my head as if to erase that question and is now well on my journey to gathering my mental hoe and shovel to dig the info about the plausible answers to seemingly unanswerable and confusing question in my head when an impatient tug at my wrist pulled me out of my reverie and caused me to look up only to see that I was being dragged towards a blindingly bright colored and elaborately decorated pet shop.

As we entered the shop, I instantly noticed that there's no one inside. I turned around to go outside and went for the family restaurant, which is the one we agreed to, or should I say she forced me to accompany her to, blabbing about celebrating our heartfelt reunion, even going as far as naming it something as corny as "We meet again…"

However, as expected she didn't listen to me and tried to find the person in charge, who by the way was hidden by a one meter high table that serves as a counter slash divider of the small shop. The guy was busy jotting some inventories while looking over some boxes; he was wearing painfully bright yellow t-shirt and black pants with matching huge yellow headphones. _'No wonder, he didn't hear us coming'_ I mused.

I was about to say an excuse, when to my horror, Mika walked straight towards the guy ,who was apparently still lost in the music and grabbed his headphones off rather carelessly.

"Ow, what the— " said guy, turned around with a real pissed off expression ready to pounce on whoever it was who removed him from the music realm. I was also getting ready that time, getting ready to grab Mika at the most opportune moment and make a quick dash for it before we got to receive this guy's wrath when said scary expression left this supposedly irritated guy as soon as his gaze landed on Mika. I almost couldn't believe what I'm seeing as he gave a sheepish smile as if to convey apology for his rude outburst earlier when it was obviously the kid's fault.

"Hello cutie, are you here to buy a pet"

'_Oh no, Not a pet!'_ I mentally screamed, while I frantically racked my brain for the perfect excuse to say without making it too obvious that I absolutely don't agree to the idea of a pet.. Now, don't get me wrong here, I don't have an issue with pets, heck, I don't even hate them. Nevermind, anyway I have to act, _quickly,_ as the storekeeper is already handing the white dog to my daughter, if it comes to this and having a pet is really inevitable then I refused to take a dog for one. I cringed at the thought of seeing my precious sofa and shoes being chewed-up and coming home to a home loitered with puppy puddles.

'_Think Yukihito, Think'_

And with that thought in mind, I tapped a nearby cage and called Mika's attention…

"Mika, how about this one? Don't you think this is cute?" I said, without even bothering to look at the animal, I guessed any pet would suffice just not a dog.

"You mean that…?"

I looked back to the cage, wondering what elicited that strange look from a young girl when my eyes landed back on the cage I was oh-so-casually leaning in, only to meet the wide stare of a green gecko looking back at me. I instantly yanked my hand away from the cage…

'_Really what kind of pet shop is this? And anyway isn't gecko illegal?'_

"Well, if you really want that Dad, that could always be arrange…" she commented with a mischievous glint in her eyes "I could call Haruka-san for you" (Haruka's the storekeeper's name) "Haru-"

"No!" In an instant, I covered her mouth and that ladies and gentlemen concludes as to how I suddenly found myself walking back to the car with Tenshi in one hand, yes, she already named the dog after she first laid eyes on it, much to the amusement of the storekeeper, and the full starter kit on the other.

_**A/N: I will really update the next part… Bear with me, this writing really helps me to improve and of course, made me realize that I had a very poor time management skills…. Please review…**_


	6. Chapter 6

**I am so sorry, super late update…. I know, explanation is not needed but still….**

**I lost my notebook at school, the one where I write the drafts of my stories and so I had to do these all over again and then my classmate gave me the notebook and it got me totally confused since I've managed to create two different drafts for this chapter and so I just combined them. I also got so busy during the finals week, hehe.. =)**

**Tell me the errors and I'll try to fix it quickly… love you all and here's the super-duper-mega late update of a chapter…**

**Disclaimer: I can never own Skip Beat =)**

**Chapter 6**

***_Kanae at the restaurant *_**

'_I'm not even that hungry, so why did I order all of these again?'_

My gaze landing at the plates of desserts in front of me, there's about ten of them- all untouched in their colorful, delectable, fluffy, tooth melting glory. Sighing, I made a mental note to never go to the mall whenever I'm depressed since the effects it had on me are quite unsettling. For one, I tend to throw good money away, because excluding the desserts lay in front of me. I literally bought every item that caught my eye before I reached said restaurant, ranging from—dress, sandals, necklace to make-up, bags and even a cute teddy plushy; it's a nice thing houses are not displayed on boutiques or I might have bought a new one as well.

Reaching for my phone, my mind started to wander if I just made a mistake by not forcing Kyouko to accompany me to lunch, after all it's me who's asking and I'm certain I'm much higher than Tsuruga in her list of people she prioritizes.

'_Talk about narcissism, what? It's the truth!'_

Anyway, I can't undo what has been done and so tapping on the keys of my phone to search for someone, _**anyone,**_ who could will me away form boredom, when much to my chagrin, I discovered that besides Kyouko and Chiori, most of my contacts are just, well, you know… _**contacts. **_You know, the type that you could only see during work, the type you talk to discuss things related to work and the type of people that wouldn't normally venture within a two meter radius towards me if it wasn't required by work.

Bearing those thoughts in mind, I continued browsing through my phonebook, muttering a bunch of NO's as I passed by each number and name. Actually, it's pretty ironic to think that my phone's storage limit is almost full whilst I can't even find one decent person to contact when I needed somebody. '

'_What an unlucky day'_

And just when I thought that my day couldn't get any worse, the scenery in front me proved otherwise. From the table across me is a huge family of six, happily chatting about school, friends and other everyday fun stuff as they eat heartily. Then there's the booth behind me, where a pair of teenage couples repeatedly kept on whispering sweet nothings to each other, really just hearing the words they were whispering aloud can cause me toothache faster than these desserts in front of me could. Then, to the farthest booth inside the restaurant, which I saw at the corner of my eye is two young men, who from untrained eyes- appear as just a normal lunch between two guys, but apparently, the silent gaze of affection did not conform to my early assumption.

'_One for everyone, I guess. And they call this a family restaurant, more like a couple's bar, if you ask me! If I knew it was like this, I shouldn't have gone here on the first place'_

With lack of nothing better to do, I picked up my fork and started poking the innocent pudding in front of me, as if by doing so, it would give me the answers to my endless inquiries.

'_Why does it bother me so much that I'm surrounded by couples?'_

'_I'm pretty certain I'm never like this before'_

'_Did they have to rub it in my face that they're happy and I'm not?'_

'_Am I not happy? Why am I not happy?'_

A flashed of a particular blacklisted blond appeared in my mind. You can probably guess who it is, and suddenly my thoughts take a complete 180 degree turn from floating questions to homicidal images beyond imagination.

_'Yes, no matter how much I look at it, the main root of the problem is him. It all comes down to him. If there really was anyone to blame, it is him.'_

"Nee-san, what are you doing?' I was abruptly pulled out of my inner thoughts by the intrusion and when I looked up, I was met by the roundest pair of amber eyes I have ever seen in my entire life.

The girl repeated what she said earlier. Yes, it's a girl of about 9 or 10 years of age, I think. She was staring straight at me, amusement dancing in her eyes as she pointed her finger in my direction.

I followed the direction of the direction her finger was pointing at and almost shouted profanities if I wasn't so much in control of myself. I was greeted by the sight of messy brown goo which if I may recall correctly, resembled a pudding earlier.

A lively chuckle escaped the young girl's lips, _'Those must've been pretty violent thoughts'_

I waved my hand at the kid as a sign of dismissal, totally ignoring the fact that I've just been caught murdering an innocent pudding, hoping she'd get the message that I'm not in the mood to deal with brats today, though it seems that the girl clearly didn't get it as she, _**uninvited**_, sat on the seat opposite mine.

Before I could ask her what she's doing however, she already offered me an explanation. "I'm waiting for my Dad to come, and I don't want to wait on a single table alone, so may I?"

I didn't answer since she already sat so what's the use of asking.

"You sure ordered a lot of sweets…"

I just arched an eyebrow at her, I'm perfectly sure it was just a silly attempt at small talk to dispel awkwardness, I was in no mood to engage in small talk and so I just offered her the untouched desserts, since I could literally see how she's practically devouring them while staring at it.

"You want them?" I offered in my most bored tone, her eyes lit up whether it was from my generosity because of the sweets or just her being happy that I responded to her, I don't know.

"May I?"

'_Oh, what's the harm?'_ I thought and just let her eat them. It's a good thing I wouldn't have to force myself to eat those additional fats plus I do not need to engage myself in small talk.

**Yashiro's POV**

***_Outside the mall, at the parking area, still*_**

"Okay, you mischievous, little mutt, you stay…" I grunted as I not-so-gently shoved my daughter's new pet "…right here" inside the car's backseat and hurriedly closed the door after it, quickly remembering to do so after several failed attempts.

I heaved a sigh of relief as I saw the dog stopped trying to escape and slowly stretch its legs as if to sleep and lazily found a comfortable position then curled itself to sleep.

"Now that's a good dog!" I loudly announced with my hands on my hip, but then I heard muffled whispers from people in that parking area and I quickly composed me. It's enough I've been chasing this mongrel all day and now people might actually think a screws loose in my head.

Anyway, I didn't have time to dwell on it for long as I peeked on my wristwatch only to be surprised that a good half hour had already passed since I left Mika inside. I practically flew back into the mall, not caring how disheveled I look after several failed attempts of chasing the dog all over the parking area of the said mall. It was the first time I cursed at a mall for having a wide parking area.

**Kanae's POV**

_***Back inside the restaurant***_

_'Oh, what's the harm?' _I thought and let her eat them all. Soon after twenty minutes and eight desserts passed, the harm that I once thought were non-existent slowly manifested itself right in front of my eyes.

The kid became super hyper and started talking non-stop and here I though chocolates were depressants. By this time though, I was ready to pull out my hair, _literally._ I can only take so much and I can already feel the threads of my patience slipping (and it's not many I tell you) out of my grasp as the girl chatted animatedly as if her life depended on it.

"And you know, there was this one time…"

"Where's your father?" I interrupted her.

She shrugged her small shoulders, "I dunno, oh yeah, as I was saying."

"Are you sure he's coming?" I interrupted again, a little bit irritated this time._' Please, can you blame me? It's been half an hour already!'_

"Like I said, I don't know, but of course he's coming, well, now that you mention it, he's late" Her glance met mine for a second, then a smile crept at her face "Why am I being a bother?"

"Quite frankly, Yes, " It was too late I already blurted out my thoughts, now the only things left is that to hope that she doesn't cry too loud.

However, instead of being offended as I thought she would be, she just smiled, "Nee-san, you're funny. That's a good one for I moment I almost believe you."

At that moment, my resolve strengthened as to how I..Don'.Kids. Period.

I chose to ignore that confusing moment, "Where's your mom? Is she with your Dad?"

The moment my seemingly innocent question left my mouth, a slight, slight, light of sadness passed before the girl's eye before it was replaced with a wide smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. "Mom's back home at the states, I flew all the way here to find my dad and I just couldn't explain how happy I was when I found him and so I suggested we eat outside and celebrate kind of like daughter-dad reunion, isn't that great? You know…"

'_And there goes the living chatterbox, but did I just imagine it or did I just saw that __**'look'**__ again?'_

The look I was talking about was the very, very**, VERY** short appearance of the pained expression on the young girl's face as I mentioned her mom. The look I've come to associate with the **'fatal effect'** it had on me. It was the go-signal for me to help motherless kids, just like what happened with Tomo(1). Though in this case, the young girl is not really motherless, she did said she have a mom just that she was abroad.

'_Anyway, why am I thinking about these again? God, I haven't ever seen this kid's father, he's probably just some ordinary, boring, old office worker or clerk of some kind in the rural areas.'_

_'With a kid that resembles an angel? No way Kanae!'_

I was pulled out of my wandering mind when I heard the girl's voice.

"There's my dad!" she gleefully and excitedly pointed, I followed her line of sight and these five words instantly floated in my mind.

'_You must be kidding me"_

Standing with his back at us, the guy was perhaps searching for his daughter so I picked this time to observe him. He has tousled brown hair, slim body not really the muscular type but not skinny either and just by the way he stands and from his clothing I could conclude that he is not some ordinary, boring, old clerk. Nope, not at all. _'I wonder if he's good looking too.'_

'_Kanae!_' I mentally reprimanded myself, _'Remember the results of the last time you choose guys based on appearances?"_

And that was all I needed, 'Thank_ you myself for the reminder'_

**Yashiro's POV**

***at the front door of the family restaurant***

I took a deep breath as I placed my hand close to my chest as a final attempt to slow down my breathing after rushing to get as fast I possibly can to the restaurant where I left Mika. Pushing the door handle, I quickly scanned from among the shop's patrons to search for a particular girl. It was not a hard feat though as I saw Mika sitting a few tables to my right. I was about to call her when I saw that she was comfortably chatting with someone—a long haired lady. Inching a little closer to get a good look as to who she is talking with, I almost shriek when I recognized who she was with. It was that temperamental woman who always hangs out with Kyouko. She was wearing casual clothing- a skinny jeans and striped polo blouse, but even at that distance and even without that criminally attention- getter pink outfit I could not be mistaken, _'It's Kotonami Kanae-san!'_

I turned my back and put my hand on my mouth, confused and don't know what to do.

'_What is she doing here? Why is Mika talking to her and why oh why do I have to meet her here of all places'_

My mind went to an overdrive in that instant, on one level I could simply walk away and just wait for Mika to look for me, on another I could simply stroll to where they are and greet Kotonami-san in a most calm manner, something along the lines of… "Hi, Kotonami-san, fancy meeting you here, you've already met Mika, my daughter….."

_'Arrgh, like I could do that'_

Unfortunately, before I had the time to choose between the two, the gods chose that particular time to toy with me as Mika's voice floated in the air. She spotted me, and here I was rooted on the spot.

"Dad!" I had no more time to think about whether I should just pretend I didn't hear her and made a mad dash out of here when I felt her hand tugged at me.

'_This is it, Yashiro, the end, everyone in the industry would know that you indeed have a daughter' _I gulped as I was led by my ever-enthusiastic daughter to the booth where she's currently seating but to my surprise Kotonami-san wasn't there.

"Ara? Where did the beautiful nee-san go?" Mika wandered aloud. "She's here earlier"

"If you're looking for that gorgeous woman who was sitting here a while ago, she already left" the waiter, who obviously didn't try to hide her admiration to Kotonami-san, informed us, as he overheard us from the opposite table where he's taking orders.

I mentally made a long sigh of relief as I felt ease knowing that no one would know about my personal life.

_'I just don't have the energy nor the courage to explain to anyone how in the short span of time, six hours, I suddenly found out that I am a father.'_

Right then and there, I threw caution at the wind and firmly held on to my belief that Lightning wouldn't strike me twice. I already took the personal risk of going out to the mall with a kid; hopefully no one would see me with her. That's too much of a coincidence already.

**Kanae's POV**

***Seating at the family restaurant***

I saw the girl approached her dad when it hit me that I really had no business whatsoever staying here anymore, after all wasn't it my mission to escape the chatterbox? Besides, this is the perfect opportunity to prove to myself that I am wiser now in choosing guys, no more based on looks and especially not one with packages.

'_Who cares, if he has a great body? Who cares if he carries himself well? He's probably not good-looking; he can have a much disfigured face for all we know…'_

And so with that resolve, I called for the waiter and hurriedly paid the bill. Thank goodness, they have a wide path walk I can easily slide past the exit without being noticed by them.

Moments later and four boutiques away from the said restaurant when I noticed that something's odd, I look down at my hands—**the shopping bags!** So that's why I felt there was something off, and so without a second thought I hurriedly strode back to the shop.

'_Those things were expensive, it goes without saying that I'll come back for them'_

However, the shopping bags were momentarily forgotten when I saw who the kid was waiting for. We both stared at each other, totally taken by surprise.

"Kotonami-san?"

"Tsuruga's manager?"

_**AN: Please, please, please review… I'm super tired I've been typing for like three hours, randomly inserting phrases that comes to mind along the way so it got a bit long…'s the only thing that keeps authors going… Love you all =)**_

_**Funny, I uploaded the messy one, here's the revised one though there's not much changes, besides the annoying author's notes…**_


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

**A/N: Finally, after three months of not updating, I'm back. Feel free to kill me now, I know. Anyway, there must be some errors in there so you could point them out to me and tell me what you think. I just recently acquired the most dangerous and fatal disease a writer could come face to face with—Laziness.**

**It might not be continued straight from where Chapter 6 left off but I have my plans so just read it, okay.**

**Well, please enjoy Chapter 7**

**NORMAL POV**

It had been a full week after 'that' day –runaway groom incident—as Chiori playfully referred to it, much to her protests and dismay but still she made no effort to prepare herself for work, nor any desire to get out of bed. She felt disappointed, cheated and above all pissed. It was her idea in the first place to treat the relationship as something trivial and by the time she considers it over, she'll be the one who ends up victorious. However, situations succeeding her ingenious plan to use Sho as a shield suddenly backfired all to her. Tomo, her slowly opening and warming up to his father, agreeing to get married to him and finally being left at the altar on her wedding day—none of these had been a part of her original plan but it did happen. Why, you ask?

Well, perhaps fate seems to have taken a huge liking on her life and decided to screw everything up. That is why no one has any reason to blame her if she decides to stay coop up at home for a week, a month, a year, or how long it would take for gossipers to stop talking about her and for her to finally regain her confidence to start working again under the scrutiny of the public eye.

'_Negative thoughts, Go away'_ Kanae made a dispelling motion of her hand in front of her face and silently pleaded that she would stop reliving these stupid memories and instead focused on getting herself sleepy again as she buries herself in her huge, blue pillows.

Without opening her eyes, she tried finding her mobile phone on her bedside table rather successfully, and said a bored hello when the voice from the other line succeeded in knocking all hold of sleep in her system with one childish whine of…

"Moouuukooo-saaaaaan!" being totally surprised she accidentally pushed the end call button at the same time ungracefully hitting her head on the wooden headboard in the process.

"Ow, what was that about?"

She was given no time to process what just happened when her cellphone rang again and she answered it her voiced laced with irritation and impatience as usual "What now, Kyouko, I swear you make my ears bleed I'm blocking your number on my cell phone, right now!"

The supposed to be annoying whine of Kyouko was replaced by a mocking yet perky tone belonging to a certain Love Me member flowing through the line, " Kotonami-san, harsh as always, you really didn't have to shut your phone on Mogami-san… she was just worried, you know?"

Kanae mentally face palmed so it was Chiori and another one of her specialty— slamming guilt trips right on your face, for some reason this girl found pleasure in seeing a rise out of her. But today, she won't indulge her; give her any entertainment by arguing with her for argument's sake.

"Is that all you have to say? Because I'm so BUSY right now" Giving emphasis on the word, "I'm hanging up"

"I won't do that if I were you, not when I have interesting news to tell"

The second Love Me member stopped her finger from pressing the end call button and said curiously, "Okay, I'm listening"

Chiori Amamiya smirked victoriously from the other line basking on the triumph that she easily managed to capture the latter's attention, "Well, remember last time I told you about Hio-san wanting to work with you?"

"Yeah, the guy who never showed up" she replied sourly "Like I could forget about him, he managed to make it to the people I'd-rather-not-work with list"

"Kotonami-san, that's your fault for not reading the message I sent you" Amamiya chided her obviously amused at her comment.

"What about him?" she replied boredly, ignoring Chiori's last comment. She still believes it wasn't her fault.

"Apparently, it turns out that the drama he is starring in is one of the biggest productions LME will be producing this year!"

"So? That's good but that has nothing to do with me"

"Ah, I just thought it would be a waste since from what I heard from my reliable sources their lead actress recently got injured and today's the casting auditions is reopen for the role of -"

Kanae was not able to hear the rest of Chiori's news as she hurriedly snapped her phone shut and rushed to the bathroom to prep herself up ._'This exactly what I need to get a move going in my career, no use holing myself up in this house!' _she reminded herself as she move around in her room in record time.

Meanwhile…

'_I am a genius!'_ Chiori brilliantly thought as she turned to Kyouko who is now sitting on the farthest corner of the Love Me girls locker room surrounded by her aura of gloom despairing perhaps on the fact that her 'Mouko-san' is mad at her.

"Mogami-san, don't worry too much, Kotonami-san says she's not mad at you."

"Really?"

"Ah, Er?"

Kyouko looked at her now with tear-filled eyes, "You're just saying that!" and she's back to her corner crying loudly than ever.

'_Damn it, why must all the members of this group be a handful, am I the only sane person in this group?'_ she asked herself while gathering her wits to calm Kyouko down.

"If I say Kotonami-san is on her way here would you believe then that she's not mad at you?"

At the mention of _'on her way here'_, Kyouko's tears dried up instantly, "Really?"

"Yes, Really!" Chiori smiled affirming

"Thank you" And just like that Chiori experienced first hand the death hold Kyouko had disguise as a hug.

"Ack, Mo...gami-san, I c-can't breathe" Kyouko realizing what she's doing abruptly pulled away and gave her friend a sheepish smile "Sorry I was just so happy, I couldn't help it"

"Well, remind me next time to never make you so happy before you attempt to murder me by depriving me all the oxygen in my body" Chiori muttered audibly while rubbing her chest.

"What did you say?"

"Nothing" Chiori lied, giving her friend an innocent smile and suddenly she realized why Kanae was so adamant about reminding Kyouko about distances whenever they meet. The girl had the grip of death, literally.

**Inside the President's Office**

**YASHIRO'S POV**

We took a deep breath, Ren and I, as he gently knocked on the two gigantic wooden doors. We both know by now that we shouldn't be shock by what we are about see as it was _'The President's Office' _were entering, knowing the President and his crazy ideas, we both know for a fact that the office would certainly not look like an office. Well, President Lory firmly believes in the saying that there's nothing more permanent than change and he adheres to this statement by using his ever changing theme in his office and clothes.

At the sound o f the door opening, a faint strumming assaulted our ears and we've adjusted to the light inside the room, our vision was greeted by a Lory Takarada in perfect imitation of the Greek God Apollo complete with the harp and the tree by which the god usually lounges in singing to his unrequited love who had preferred to be a tree rather than to be with him.

"Tsuruga-kun, Yashiro" The flamboyantly dressed President finally turned his attention to us after one of his assistants announce our arrival. "Glad you made it, want some wine?" he offered it to us as we made our way to the couch sitting opposite him.

The two of us declined his offer both agreeing on the fact that it is not good to start a day of work with a wine lest your president of the company or agency in these situation.

Then, the two started talking about the new drama that wanted to cast Ren as one of the lead stars. The President was asking me if Ren could still handle it but deep down I know he will still abide by whatever Ren decides so I tried to give signals _(I practically looked like a praying mantis, praying literally to Ren that we can't accommodate the project anymore)_ Good thing, Ren listened for once as he politely explained the reason's why he can't take the project, sugarcoating words and coming up with the most probable lies however halfway through his explanation the President butted in and simply let out a mournful sigh of…

"It's okay Ren-kun"

'_Notice that he use the first name, never a good sign as far as I know since it means he will be asking a favor that Ren simply cannot refuse'_

"Actually, you don't need to apologize for that matter, I completely understood" he even reached out and patted Ren's shoulder before he stood to face the glass window of the said room with a contrived pained expression and continued, "But it's just that it pains me to broke this news to somebody who had been looking forward to be your co-star."

'_Oh no, I do not like where this is all leading, I think I know what the President is plotting, God, Ren why couldn't you see he's acting! Feigning hurt! You're an actor for sanity's sake!'_

"Really? Well, who might this be so I can apologize to him in person" Ren asked.

"Well, he's not actually a he but a she, I'm sure she'll be able to understand" The President chose this moment to look him in the eye and said, "It's Mogami-kun"

And there goes the magic name and Ren's resolve of declining disappeared like bubbles in the air. I had seen this coming, of course what better method to persuade Ren than use Kyouko-chan, it was one of the things I've learned from President Lory himself and I must admit it prove to be effective. Everyone could see how Ren is head over heels in love with the girl (except for himself and the girl in question) and he wouldn't pass this opportunity up not when he had heard that the love of his life wants to be his co-star.

I stole a sideway glance at the President before we left his room and I swear that he had a smirk in place of his usual beaming smile.

'_That cunning old man!'_ He wasn't planning on giving him a choice to decline in the first place that look gave it all away, it was the look that says, _and 'I'm making you agree to me one way or another'_

Noticing my silence, Ren tried to explain to me "Uh, Yashiro-san"

I raised a hand to him as if to silence him, though Ren may have taken it the wrong way as he continued to apologize. I release a deep sigh, without looking at him who is quietly following from behind…

"Ren, quit it with the kick puppy expression." I turned to faced him "I'm not angry at you, okay. Of course, it's given that you would want to participate in a drama with Kyouko-chan. It would actually be weird if you don't"

A gentle smile graced across the man's lips as he said, "Thanks"

"Anything for a friend, Ren"

Wow, you're actually supportive Yashiro-san"

"You only realize that now? Aren't I the biggest fan of you and Kyouko-chan?" I playfully teased him though what he said next caught me off guard.

"Just like a father would be"

Now if I was eating something, I most probably would have done these two embarrassing things: either I choke on my food ungracefully or scatter my half-munched food all over the place creating big fool of myself. Fortunately, I was not eating at the moment and so nothing of the two happened. _'What a relief!'_

"E-excuse me, what did you just say?" Not trusting my ears, I finally turned to face him.

"You're supportive for once?"

"No, no, the one after that…" I gestured my hand in reverse circular motion in front of him.

"Just like a fat—"

Ren didn't get to finish before I quickly muttered a "You go ahead first, I need to go to the bathroom"

When he was a good five meters away from me and after checking from right to left if there's any person around, _'None, good'_ I shouted a horrified "NO" till I reach the bathroom to clear my mind.

Ren thought he had heard his manager hollering in the hallway but quickly shrugged thinking that nerves and stress might have got the better of his usually composed manager.

'_Oh well, he'll probably come around'_

Ren thought too happy to think of anything other than to see a particular girl who apparently so wanted to be his co-star.

**KANAE'S POV**

'_Calm down, calm down, okay, I'm calm' _I chanted to myself as I after years of not going to work, okay not really years but you get the feeling. I feel like its been years since I last saw glass doors of LME, since I last saw the two lady receptionist at it's front desks, since I last saw how wide and spacious this building is and in general since I last saw this many pair of eyes suddenly looking at me. I bet they weren't expecting me, of all people to show up at work like nothing happened.

I lifted my nose in the air and pretended I didn't see their wary glances or the lot of them whispering from the sides though I hear bits of what they're talking about , something along the lines of- "That's her!" or "The girl who was left by Fuwa Sho at the altar" and "Shh, she might hear us"

'_Of course, I'm hearing you! Stupid girls with absolutely no talent, if you really don't want me to hear you then maybe you should stop talking while I'm still within hearing range'_

As I strode down the studio where they're holding the casting for that female lead role that Chiori told me on the phone about, I put all the confidence that I could muster I had no time to be self-conscious, if I want to get this goddamn role. As soon as I step inside, I was immediately greeted by the sight of a lot of female talents from LME most I had come to remember from the first day I had applied here at the agency.

'_Okay, I definitely got this I mean what kind of talent could possibly outshine mine?'_

Suddenly a familiar and painful to the ears whine greeted my vision and in mere seconds I had myself enveloped by Kyouko and her childlike-ish behavior.

"Mouko-san! I miss you! So is it true you're here for the casting audition?" She enthusiastically said while I try to pry myself away from her grip as now more than ever I would like to appear as a formal and mature individual and I wouldn't achieve that when Kyouko is clinging to me while wearing her embarrassing pink overalls.

"Yeah, it's true."

"Uwaah! I'm so excited we'll be working alongside each other"

"Huh? I didn't know that" I looked at Chiori who was playing with her hair to confirm if it was true but then again Kyouko answered it herself.

"You didn't know? I got casted as the best friend of the lead character. It was supposed to be Rurika-san but she had injured her foot on the set on one the taping of another of her dramas." She trailed off and looking really sad about the girl's current condition "Well, I'm still sad about that but after knowing that they had a special audition for that lead role and Chiori-san said you'll be trying out for it I was overly happy. You and I will be co-stars finally!"

I felt a small blush of embarrassment rise to my cheeks "We still don't know if I'll get the part or not" I whispered looking anywhere but her eyes.

"Of course, we know. You're the best of 'em all" She said giving Amamiya a nudge, "Right, Chiori-san?"

"Just show them what you can do" Chiori added giving me thumbs up.

I felt myself smiling inside thanking them for their vote of confidence though I tried to hide it when I heard one of the director's assistants calling all the girls auditioning to come to the adjacent room outside.

**HIO'S POV**

"Okay, Next"

My ears are ringing it had been almost an hour and I don't think I can take any of this stupid girls take the stage anymore just to show me some more of their lame talents. They look the same, they smile the same, and they do the same.

'_Arrgh, why does Rurika-san have to be injured when you needed her most, I thought we had it all wrapped in the bag. I have no time for this. I shouldn't have agreed to that eccentric President when he said that it was necessary that it should be me who will be one to select one of my co-stars. For all I know it could just be one of tricks to avoid this long, complicated process.'_

A tap on my shoulder made me look up and I see Director Okuya looking at me through his shades.

'_Honestly, who wears shades inside a dark room?'_

"Bored already?"

"Do I look bored?" I replied equally using his same carefree tone.

"Well, I have to say you have a very good skill in making it look as if you're not bored" he replied amused.

"So you think I'm bored then?"

"I didn't say that you are but don't worry I'm sure there's something to look forward to in these girls" He said not even looking at me anymore but to the remaining ten girls left.

"Number 17" A raven-haired woman in baby blue blazer polo and matching skirt stood at the stage. I recognized her immediately to be Kotonami Kanae, whom Amamiya talked to me about, you must be guessing why I know Amamiya well I met her on my first projects before, well, it's a long story so moving on even though its my first time meeting this Kanae I recognized her instantly as she was exactly as Amamiya describe her to be. A mature looking woman who wears an air of self-confidence and looks at her rivals as if they were dust not worth of her time.

'_Well, Kotonami Kanae let's see what you've got'_

She walked in front of a mic and handed us a thick book. I raise my brow questioningly, wondering what she's going to do—recite a poem. A story? However, what she said next surprised me.

"Ask me any line from any page from there I'll recite it for you."

"Any line?" One of Okuya's assistants asks, she nods as an answer.

"Okay, er,um line 56-59 page 29"

She closed her eyes breathed a little then recited the line, "Wordlessly, Robbie piled her box on top of his. They slid to his chest and he walked up the stairwell without much struggle. Emma watched him and tried not to judge the gaping knee holes and paint flecks on his jeans. He was a chief set designer at Surreyburg."

A murmur of amazement went across the room,_' she can recite anything from memory that's amazing'_ is probably what most people thought though I am different, who knows if she had reread that book over and over again to memorize that line and so I went through my belief and voiced it.

"Kotonami-san, that's is very impressing –" a curt smile splayed on her lips "but you wouldn't mind if I test you for another time, cause I'm not so sure if you've been reading that book for lot of times already. It must be some sort of coincidence"

The smile disappeared altogether and the beginnings of a scowl started to form though she's trying hard to suppress it "Are you insinuating that I am cheating just because I've used my own book?"

'_How dare you accuse me of cheating? Okay, I'll show you what I can do, after this you will have to admit that I'm the best amongst these bitches out here'_

"No, I'm not insinuating anything, but I just want to reconfirm if you really can recite everything from memory." I said calmly yet in a challenging tone that I know people with determination like hers wouldn't hesitate to accept. _'Don't be a coward, say yes'_

"Sure, go ahead" She said, smiling again with the fire in her eyes to prove me wrong. _'Don't be too surprised when you see how good I am'_

This time I turn to Okuya and was surprised when he handed me the script "this is what you wanted to asked for, right?"

I smiled back, he was finding all this amusing I'm sure and so without further ado I gave Kotonami-san the 10 page script and gave her time to read it. After five minutes, she handed it back to us all confident… "Okay, Let's start"

"Line 24-29 page 2"

"What is happening to me? I can see through all their lies. Have I gone crazy? I must be dreaming. Right, I am dreaming. I just have to close my eyes and one, two, three, they'll be gone." She paused then looked me straight in the eye, "Is that good enough?"

"Yes, it is" After that she exited the stage after a loud applause lead by Okuya himself who was simply praising her for her talent. There were remaining talents who have yet to show us what they can do but judging from the look Okuya and I exchanged, we knew it had already been decided.

**Outside the audition room**

**THREE HOURS LATER**

**KANAE'S POV**

"You did it, Mouko-san! You're so amazing"

"You weren't even inside, how are you supposed to know that I'm amazing huh?" I pretended to not be too happy like her but inside I'm laughing maniacally because of my win. I knew it no one could outshine my talent.

"She is amazing indeed, I was inside and I saw it firsthand" A male voice popped in on our conversation and my pretend scowl immediately turned into a real one as I saw who decided to butt in on our conversation. No other than the teenage arrogant jerk who tried to accuse me of cheating, if I remember his name was… was… It was…

"Uesugi-san!" It was Amamiya who immediately filled us in on this jerkhead's name. "So you were one of the judges huh? See, I told you Kotonami-san was a surprise wasn't she?"

"Yes, she is," he trailed off catching my gaze, "Definitely a surprise" then he turned back to Chiori, "What about you? Amd what's with 'Uesugi-san' way of calling me if I remember right you're definitely much older than me stopped trying to address me like an old man and What is that you're wearing?"

Chiori tinted red from embarrassment, 'Oh, Don't mind it, it's just a unique uniform"

"Unique uniform, my ass. Look at you, you look hilarious! Wait 'till I tell this to the others" He took out his cell phone and snapped shots of Chiori who started covering her face while trying to get the cell phone at the same time from its owner.

I was a little surprised as these two started to talk like they're long time buddies, it was probably noticed by Kyouko as she too asked me…

"Who's he?"

I shrugged my shoulders, "I don't know."

Finally, the arrogant guy and Chiori both looked at us, then Chiori cleared her throat, " Ah, before I forgot, Hio my friends in this agency. She pointed at us," Mogami Kyouko and Kotonami Kanae this is my friend Uesugi Hio"

This Uesugi guy nodded at both of us but his eyes were still trained at me which is somehow getting me irked "Nice to meet you, Mogami-san."

"Nice to meet you too, Uesugi-san" Kyouko took his hand, then he turned to me, "Nice to meet you too, Kotonami-san" He stretched his hand to me.

I took his in mine and fake a glad smile, "Likewise" I was still irked by what he put me through during the auditions earlier.

"Congratulations on getting the role, I hope you're as good as what the others told me about" he said nonchalantly then as he noticed the tense atmosphere and my fierce glare he smiled, "Just kidding, want some coffee? I'll treat you all…"

'See, I told you the guy is arrogant and now, he expect me to sit down and have coffee with him? No, freaking way! Wait, must act professional'

"Sure!" I smiled amiably at him.

"Where to?"

"I know a good coffee shop two blocks from this building" Amamiya butted in.

"Great!" I said smiling like a Cheshire cat, grinning from ear to ear, "The three of you can go ahead"

The arrogant teen looked at me and I don't know if I just imagined it or was he really disappointed when I said that I couldn't come, anyway, "Yeah, sorry I remembered I have to do something" I said then walked away to the opposite direction.

'_It was not a lie okay, since I really do have something to do. What was it again? Ah, to get as far away as I can from here and from that annoying brat. I can't believe the first major project that I have will be to work with him, oh well, beggars can't be choosers'_

**YASHIRO'S POV**

After sending a text message to Ren that I'm not feeling well and receiving a reply that he can drive himself to his next photo shoot and other appointments and just kindly asked someone to accompany him. I walked right to the parking lot, fished out the key in my pockets and started to drive my car out of the agency when my phone started buzzing off and I regretted that I even answered it.

"Hello?"

"I'm at the back, Drive me home"

'_Here comes Queen of Orders'_ I tried my best to sound as polite as possible since the one from the other line sounds seriously pissed. "Ah, I'm out of the agency, I'm at XXXXXXX already, and besides don't you have a car?"

"DO you seriously think I want to ride in that out dated car of yours, if I have my car with me right now, I would've drove straight at home and not here begging you on the phone to take me back. Seriously, come back here now" She was not shouting but there is urgency in her voice that clearly translates as 'Leave me here and you know what'll happen' type of tone.

'Wow, she's begging at that rate huh, well, I'm scared to know how she orders other people around'

"Okay, Okay, I'm coming back, give me ten minutes okay"

I put the earpiece down and proceeded to vent my frustration on the road cursing to myself.

'_Why did I ever agree to what she said to me during that time?'_

_**A/N: I have to cut in here because I still don't know how to write the other things I've planned in mind. Anyhow, I think I'll be regularly updating now like once a week. I don't know I don't want to disappoint since that's is what I have been doing to other people these past few days and to myself. And enough about me, tell me what you think about the story well, if you still care to read bout it... (insert teary-eyed self here)**_

_**P.S. I know that Yashiro doesn't know how to drive but Because this is my story and it's a fanfic. Guys, Gimme a break… haha, he is driving ;D**_

**Review*** Review*** Review*** Review*** Review*** Review*** Review*** Review*** Review*****


	8. Chapter 8

_**A/N: I wrote this during my supposed to be 'fun class' which apparently is not fun at all. It was so boring and because of this, I've come to realize that my teacher's voice is a natural lethargic drug.**_

_**I've decided to still finish this story despite my growing amounts of homework, college stuff, you know.**_

**Chapter 8**

**NORMAL POV**

"I thought I called you twenty minutes ago, what took you so long?"

Instead of a simple _'thank you for coming back here'_ or a simple '_sorry, to make you go all the way back here,'_ directed at him—none of the above were mentioned as this first string of the many strings of complaints that this woman is only capable of spouting were what first greeted Yashiro at the moment he dropped the car's window down to check on the woman who had called him in the middle of rush hour at the busy streets of XXXXX.

_ 'Okay, count one to ten slowly… one… two… ten, Okay' _Yashiro decided to calm himself first before saying anything, it's a habit his starting to establish when dealing with or before talking to this woman who always seemed pissed beyond comprehension whenever he sees her but his daughter beat him to it.

"You shouldn't shout at my Dad, haven't you heard of the word _'traffic' _before?"

Mika, his daughter—yup, he already accepted the fact that she is indeed her daughter even if he has yet to know or even hear the reason why she traveled miles just to get to him-decided to butt in on the conversation from the seat beside his, looking all ready to defend him to this woman who is seemingly adamant on making a slave out of him just because of some stupid agreement the said woman had forced upon him.

If the raised eyebrow on Kanae's already pissed off expression was any indication that she didn't really liked the girl's retort, the woman never voiced it but to Yashiro he saw and understood its meaning loud and clear. It's too late to take it back now, after all what Mika said was right so instead he just kept his mouth shut and opted to open the door to his car's backseat for her to hop in.

"Drive me home"

"Wow, you're talking to my Dad as if his your personal driver huh?"

Upon hearing the comment, mischievous amber eyes clashed with pissed off blue ones and Yashiro could swore that he felt the car's temperature dropped to a colder degree and saw a jolt of electricity coursing between those two as if in silent battle.

He sighed silently, before proceeding to touched Mika's arm and coaxed her to look at his silent gaze and smiled at her as if to say, _'It's alright'_. Mika reluctantly obeyed but not before gesturing her two fingers to point to her own eyes and back at Kanae in an act that says, _'I'm watching you'_

"Why this little-" Kanae made a move to control her hand from reaching out and strangling this little annoyance' til it breathe no more, so it wouldn't be able to add to her quickly rising temper, which she will soon found out is one of the many talents that this girl possess.

"Ahem" Yashiro coughed, a little loud perhaps because he was trying to fought the urge of laughter from spilling from his throat, but then he quickly regretted it when he found himself at the end of the receiving end of Kanae's heated glare partially pissed by being rudely interrupted.

"Mou, must you always bring this brat along?"

"Uh, Well-" Yashiro mentally scratched the back of his head, his hands on the steering wheel and his mind scrambling for words.

"Hey, it's the first time I've tag along with Dad, I just met him yesterday remember? And I'm not a brat"

"Mika…" Yashiro tried to stop his daughter from talking back but Kanae's voice towered over his.

"Yes you are. I know a brat when I see one" _'Ah, how I could I make them stop'_

"Ah, guys, Excuse me…?"

"What!"

"Mou!" Two pair of angry female eyes was upon him in that instant and Yashiro wish he never spoke in the first place.

"Nothing" He mumbled and focused his eyes on the road and tried to tune out the two girls busy bickering at each other because he just failed in making them stop.

'_It's probably wasn't the best idea that he had agreed to that contract, if his whole month would be like this'_

_*****Start of Flashback*** Back at the family restaurant**_

"Uh, Kotonami-san, what exactly is this?" Yashiro looked at the paper laid in front of him, eyeing it as if the paper would suddenly grow arms and mouth and eat him alive.

The shock from their sudden meeting had already worn off and Kanae had currently found herself a brilliant plan that she wants to be put into action, no matter what.

"It's exactly what you think it is" Kanae replied, tone impassive but her eyes twinkled with victory at seeing the guy's pale-faced expression.

"_**One-Month Kanae's Personal Assistant Contract**_? What's this are you trying to make my dad agree to be your personal slave?"

Kanae turned her gaze to the meddlesome girl beside her and thought how easy people can change their minds, minutes earlier this girl is very good and treated her with utmost admiration and was over-all kind to her and even smiled at her and invited her to seat beside her but now this girl is being all bossy and sarcastic with her just because she's asking his Dad a small favor. Really, it's just so small as to what she had gone about fickle-mindedness.

'_This is adults only conversation so I would be very grateful if you SHUT UP'_. God, she really wanted to say that but she had to grit her teeth to control her urge to just shout whenever she'sirritated. Her plan would be ruined if she manage to make herself look intimidating and dominating, the plan was to portray herself as depressed and vulnerable than usual, which was true considering she is really feeling that way and she's just making it a little known, call it exaggeration if you will, but this is how she get things done her way. So instead she smiled at her with the genuineness of a salesman while doing a sales pitch. "And why do you think that way Mika?" She eyed her with a challenging glint I her eyes that says '_try saying anything and you'll reg_-_'_

"Look here-" the girl pointed to an emphasized sentence in the paper in front of her Dad.

'_This girl didn't even let me finish my thought!'_

"It says that **the one being ordered must comply with any of requestor's wish may it be something trivial, serious or life-changing. He is not allowed to refuse any request otherwise this contract will be extended to another month** and blah, blah, blah. See, it tries to deceive my Dad into becoming your personal slave!"

"While I applaud your very nice observational skills Mika, you seemed to have skipped on the part that **all requests shall only be done on the time the person being ordered is available so as not to hinder his nature of work** since the requestor is so nice to do such a thing" She finished speaking slowly as if to a person who refuses to understand something that is very easy to understand and gave her a condescending smile

Mika ignored Kanae who was smirking happily and she turned to her Dad with pleading eyes, "You're not agreeing to this Dad!" the statement almost sounded final had it been Mika who is to make a decision, however it is not so…

"Kotonami-san, I believe we can resolve this without resorting to… to this" Yashiro pleaded as he pushed back the paper to Kanae's side of the table, hoping silently that the woman would change her mind.

"Really? then please enlightened me how you can bring back all the lost time that Kyouko was supposed to **(spend on me)** spend on herself but end up being used as _**'Tsuruga's substitute manager' **_"

"Uh.. Er… Well, anyway wasn't that—" He was looking anywhere but to her and played with the glass of juice in his hand, tracing its rim.

"And don't you reasoned with me that its her job as one of the Love Me Members" her voice raising up a few notches at this point but still far from being a shout so as not to distract unnecessary attention. "Her job or should I say, **our job is to take on work requested by people who needs our help.** Yours is a different case, you take on breaks saying you caught cold or some similar disease but in actuality you're making someone do your work while you laze around the mall with your daughter"

"Hey, you make it sound as if Dad's not doing his work" Mika inputted to the one-sided conversation currently being dominated by Kanae and looked her straight in the eye, seeing asher Dad is losing this battle and is really considering in this ridiculous plan or agreement whatsoever.

"It's the truth" Kanae supplied without batting an eye and pausing to even glance at the kid and just looking Yashiro in the eye straight on.

"Is one day off that bad to make you get your panties knotted in a twist? And anyway, it isn't your time and energy that he had borrowed, why are you the one making a big deal out of it."

"Big deal?, I'll tell you why it's a big deal because, because of him" Kanae took the time to point at Yashiro with her voice suddenly faltering while saying this, "I wouldn't be spending my pathetic time alone in this mall finding company in this shopping bags and looking more miserable than I already am"

At this point, a few tears were forming at the woman's eyes that were threatening to fall in just a few seconds, "Did you know I was so upset when my fiancé didn't show up at our wedding" A pause, "But you know what's more upsetting? My best friend who was supposed to comfort me through those heart-crushing moments wasn't there. Care to know why?" Few tears were falling now and quite a growing number of eyes were now gazing at their direction and Yashiro felt the need to do something lest he want the world, well, not really the world (but you know what I'm talking about) misunderstood and mistook him for a bad boyfriend or worse a bad husband as in this case, Kanae is seated beside Mika who might be mistaken for her daughter if the people wouldn't get the mistake of coming too close to see her rolling her eyes to this sudden display of drama as if she thought that this was all an act.

One awkward minute later and a crying lady in front of him is just what it took for him to comply with the woman's request which now leads him to his current predicament.

'_Damn you Yukihito and your vulnerability against crying ladies.'_

_*****Flashback ends*****_

_**Twenty-minutes later… Back in the car**_

"We're here" Yashiro announced upon arriving right at the gate of Kanae's house. Upon hearing no response he glanced at his back to see a very uncomfortable looking Kanae. Before he could say anything though, Kanae tried to make a mad dash only to fail to make it to the door of her house and threw up right there outside the car. Fortunately to the relief of Yashiro and to the disgust of Mika who crinkled her nose at the sight.

"Are you alright, Kotonami-san?" Yashiro asked worriedly as he deposited the dizzy Kanae on the nearest couch in her wide and spacious living room as the girl can't barely walked three steps without falling.

He received an irked glare in return combined with a _'don't-touch-me'_ gesture by way of her hand grabbing his hand to detach it from its hold on her, "Do I look alright to you? What kind of sick driving school gave you the permission to drive anyway? You're practically a living threat to all the drivers and pedestrians in Japan"

The woman all but shouted at Yashiro, however upon meeting his gaze, she felt she had said a little too much for the guy just remained silent. She cursed himself for feeling guilty by throwing such careless words, if he had a driver's license he must've worked hard to get it, she suddenly backpedalled and stuttered a quick apology, "I-I'm sorry, I didn't… mean to sound that way…" her voice trailing off into a mere whisper, " It's just that your driving really scared me… …for real" she averted her eyes to look anywhere but to him, embarrassed by the fact that she'd just admitted that she got scared as it wasn't in her personality to be scared easily.

Yashiro was about to say and laughed at her saying that its normal to be scared since he really wasn't that skilled yet in driving and he himself knew it, hence the reason he let Ren to drive them to whatever his location is and making him believe that he couldn't sit behind the wheel, after all he wouldn't want to be responsible if Japan's top star is to suddenly get injured or anything remotely similar to that. He knew even if he work under hard labor for years, he couldn't cover the amount of damage that would incur to him if that were to happen. Though he had gotten enough courage when he drive Mika last time they were at the mall since the girl doesn't seem to have any problem with his driving. Apparently, he had been too confident, however all thoughts of saying that disappeared as he did a double take when he gazed at her and saw a slight tinge of pink across the woman's pale cheeks.

'_Was she blushing? That's so cute!'_

Then, he realized it… '_Wait, did I just put the words Kotonami Kanae and cute in one sentence?'_

Before his mind could comprehend this huge mar in his logic, he was cruelly kicked back, literally, to reality when he found himself face to face fortunately on the nearby sofa.

Looking back at her while rubbing the part where her feet connected to his legs causing him to stumble unceremoniously on the sofa, she only raised an eyebrow and in a perfect and innocent voice gave him the simplest explanation for her uncalled for action…

"What? You're blocking the television!"

'_Yep I'm right, the name Kotonami Kanae and the word cute isn't meant to be put in one sentence'_

_**A/N: For some reason, when I think of this is my head it somewhat changes when I type it up, don't know why...**_

_**Finally, I've posted Chapter 8, Yey ME! I would really love to know of what you think of this drabble, a line or two will do. Thanks… =)**_


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Updates, Updates…. =) I love changing POV's so beware I've kind of used them a lot**

**Disclaimer: I can't own Skip Beat! Else it would take a thousand years for it to be completed… No, I'm not kidding, Seriously**

**Chapter 9**

**(Back at LME)**

**Normal POV**

"So it's just the two of us left" Hio muttered looking at the tiled floor as if it were suddenly the most interesting thing, he'd ever laid eyes on. He tried to sound nonchalant, tried to sound bored and just shrugged off the disappointment that is slowly crawling over his skin caused by a certain Kotonami Kanae rejecting his offer of free lunch in a not-so-subtle kind of way and hurriedly sprinted away minutes ago, and leaving them with the obvious and poorly disguised lie of her suddenly feeling ill and had to go home as soon as possible. Although if somebody were to ask his opinion, he'd say she looked irritated than sick. Well, that is just a mere guess, if her clenched fist and tight lipped I-do-not-want-to-smile-but-I-simply-have-to kind of courtesy smile directed at him and her instantaneous response of rejecting her without giving much though about it were anything to go by.

He would've wish that the woman at least tried to act as if she were **REALLY** sick so at least he would've been spared the feeling of embarrassment of rejection pricking at him like needles would to a pin cushion. What he means is that the woman is an actress for God's sake so she might've at least feigned sickness so at least the person taking the time to invite her wouldn't feel bad at being taken down on his generous offer.

*Sigh*

'_Was she really that pissed at me because of the audition? Hmm… maybe I should've picked a less harsh way to get her attention but still I never thought that she was sensitive. She doesn't really give the vibe… …so maybe the fault is with me? No, no, no' _he mentally shook his head; '_I'm perfect nothing is wrong with me; she's the one with the problem. Yep, she is the one at fault here;'_

While Hio is wondering with these thoughts in mind, from a nearby wall his friend Chiori Amamiya is watching him with a very critical eye and with a twinkle in her eyes that says she knows something that the latter doesn't, _'he must be thinking what the hell is wrong with the woman who had the nerve to reject his offer. Tsk, tsk, Hio narcissism is a very deadly disease. Why don't you ask yourself if you have done something wrong that warrants such an action from Kotonami-san.' _

Chiori gave the hallway a quick glance and indeed realized that they're the only two left. Kanae had bailed out earlier and not too long after that a too happy looking bordering to almost creepy Tsuruga Ren walked over them and asked politely if he could borrow Mogami-san for a minute, at which at that point Chiori feared that if she said _'No, you can't we will have a lunch today with her' _Tsuruga-san would still get Kyoko by force so opting for the safer scenario she said okay and by then Tsuruga-san is practically pulling at a very apologetic Kyoko who promised her a _'Maybe next time, Amamiya-san'_ and turn to Hio with a _'Nice meeting you, Uesugi-kun'_ who only nodded in acknowledgment since he's so drowned inside his thoughts that Chiori knew he almost didn't noticed her left, his thoughts still with the object of his infatuation,- Kotonami Kanae.

Chiori peered at Hio from the corner of her eye, and she had to control this urge to keep herself from giggling, the teen had this seriously contemplating kind of look and it would really not be funny if this expression is common to her long time friend, however it is not. Since the time she had known him, Hio never had to contemplate or seriously think about anything, whatever he wanted he could just take it with a simple request –it's a perk that comes with being a descendant of the Uesugi clan and being famous from birth. He did not have the chance to weigh options between what decisions is right and what is wrong like a normal person for if he said that the sun is the moon people around him would be more than willing to agree (well, not really to that extreme but somehow kind of like that) because nobody wanted to be on his bad side. He certainly does not think whether what he said had offended anybody or not since more often than not nobody had the guts to disagree with him and he just assumed that it's okay to do as he pleases since no one ever complains. It must have been a shock to him that a newbie in the showbiz industry who certainly needed his help in becoming famous is not taking up the opportunity to spend time with him (or rather cling to him like most young actresses today who is more than glad to have their names link to his, even in rumors)

**Chiori's POV**

"Oi, Chiori, stop staring at me. You're making a good job of looking more idiotic than you already appear because of what you're wearing" he mocked me and I was pulled out from my brilliant observation and analytical musing just to see him glancing my way with a very happy grin at catching me spaced out.

"Oh, so you're fine enough to insult me huh?" I happily took three confident strides and stared him right in the eyes, to see his flustered reaction when I get to share to him my fair share of observational skills; I tiptoed to his ear and whispered "Really, if spacing out is considered to be idiotic then you should call yourself that first, Mr. Lover boy, you've been spacing out for a good ten minutes because Kotonami-san dumped you"

"Wha-.. What do you mean dumped? I'm not even courting the woman and she's definitely not my type" he shouted then huffed and crossed his arms in a very super Hio-like way ( the way he does when he was still a brat) then cleared his throat after he saw some talents walked out the door three meters from where he and I are standing. He may be totally embarrassed right now but it seems to me that he refused to be seen like that by other people definitely not by those he harshly rejected a few minutes earlier. (How do I know that he rejected those ladies harshly, well, let's just say that the glare they are sending his way when they thought that he wasn't looking is enough basis for that)

When we saw that the ladies have already disappeared, I swung a hand over his shoulder like good, old buddies since even if he is already a teen now, I'm still taller than him by a couple centimeters, " Tsk, tsk, tsk, Hio-pon, stop being in denial okay. Chiori-neesan here has some tips for you on how to win over Kotonami-san's heart if you would just admit that you like her" I tease him while poking his side with my free hand.

"Tch, stop calling me by that horrible pet name" he removed my hand from his shoulder and give me a very scary glare which I would have been really scared if I wasn't so immune to it by now, "And besides, you're only older by me by a year, you're not old enough to be my **NEESAN**"

I looked up at him with a feign surprise and delight since I know that he is evading my earlier comment "Wow, I'm touched that you consider me not old enough to be a sister to you but still" my voice took a turn to tease him again, "You didn't deny that you like Kotonami-san huh!"

"Whatever! I'm out of here" He rolled his eyes in exasperated and dismissive motion and started to head on out.

"Hey wait!" I followed him still, "So what about the free coffee, does it still stand or is it only available when Kotonami-san is around?"

He turned around looking truly irritated and hissed, "It's available. That is before you insisted on messing with me, "the irritated expression morphed into a sneer "But now? .." then he made a shooing motion.

"Aw, no fair! But you promised-"

"Ah, da, da, da, la, la la," He chanted making sure to tune me out, "What is that?" He put a hand to his ear while wearing that grin that most girls would have wanted to see since its appearance is so rare but right now all I want is to tear it off his face as its only main purpose is to piss me off and its currently working "I can't hear you?" he sang.

Then we saw, Director Okuya, heading our way waving like some happy idiot, "Oh, Hio-kun, Chiori-chan (Yup, he knows me, I've worked with him before) we both turned at the direction of the voice "I thought I hear Hio-kun here shout, what's the buzz?"

'_Yes, this is my chance!'_ "Well, actually Okuya-san, Hio-kun here is actually in l-"

I didn't get to finish my sentence since Hio already dragged me out of there while giving Okuya-san some reason about forgetting something and the next thing I knew I'm at a coffee shop beside a brat mumbling something that resembled the words _'scheming' and 'bitch'. _Oh God, I never knew how flowery Hio's vocabulary can be when provoked but either way everything's all well and good. I get to enjoy a nice cup of coffee from a grumbling Hio and even though I'm fine with coffee now, maybe later on it will take more than a coffee to _'zip my mouth' _as Hio eloquently put it in his own words. And yet, no one could even imagine and describe how delighted I was when I heard his next words…

"Okay, let's hear it…" It was a very brief moment of admission since the moment he said this he was already looking at somewhere anywhere but my eyes yet I already understood what he mean but being the sadist I was, I kind of like making him feel uncomfortable

"Hear what?"

"You know what I'm talking about!" his voice had risen up a little and an embarrassed flush is slowly creeping into his face.

"What do you mean? Really, I don't know. What is it?" His expression is now torn between total aggravations and total humiliation _'Really I could just sit here all day and watch him squirm trying to spit out the inevitable and embarrassing admission, a few seconds now—three – two –two and a half—'_

"The ridiculous tips that you were mentioning a while ago on how to win Kotonami Kanae's heart!" _'oops did I say that he totally shouted that last statement but just the embarrassment of admitting his crush to Kotonami-san to me is mortifying enough for him that he had buried his face on the table as if that would erase what he said earlier.'_

'_And did I mention that I burst out laughing?'_ Yup, cruel I know but he should get used to it from now on since if he really wants to get a woman's attention he'd have to endure a lot of humiliating scenarios that he had never dreamed he would do in his entire life.

**Kanae's House**

"Do you have any more orders?" Yashiro asked gritting his teeth in an attempt to keep any sarcasm from sipping in his voice after he'd been ordered around to clean the living room which should be a fairly easy task if only the woman who owns said house knows how to clean, but upon his discovery after managing to clean every nook and corner of the living room he noticed that the fault lies on the fact that the living room is so wide and spacious for just one person however he soon found his earlier observation being contradicted as it had been clear enough that the living room is not too spacious at all if Kotonami Kanae had managed to cover every inch of the floor with various litters ranging form crumpled sheets, bags of snacks and lots and lots of empty wine bottles. "Kotonami-san, I said—"

Kanae didn't even spare him a glance over the show that is clearly more interesting in her eyes before she made dismissive motion with her hand to his direction, which in fact should really offended him because he had sunk so low that a TV is more appealing to look at than him. However, he is too resigned to his fate that he had given up the feeling of being too angry and had decided to get used to this feeling as this is how exactly his next 29 days would unfold.

"Mika, were going now. Get back to the car!" said man raised his voice but didn't dare shout since he doesn't want a rerun of earlier conversations or to put in his terms – earlier nagging.

**Flashback –a good twenty minutes ago-**

"Turn the vacuum off; I can't hear what I'm watching!" 'So how am I supposed to clean all your mess?'

"What are you doing? That pot goes over there! Don't go disarranging my things!" ''Like it was in order when I saw it, if you don't like it when I'm ARRANGING your things then maybe you should be the one cleaning here!'

"Stop humming I can hear you! It's irritating!" 'What? I can barely hear my own voice on top of the volume of the television, how could she even hear me?'

**Flashback ends**

**Yashiro's POV**

"Mika!" I tried calling her again. During the duration I was cleaning, my daughter took the liberty of strolling around the house, completely ignoring Kotonami-san's claim of _'stop invading my privacy'_ and countering with _'I will if you stop ordering my Dad around!',_ it may also have to do with the fact that said owner of the house is still feeling ill and cannot play chase to stop Mika from wandering since she keeps complaining about _'my stomach had been turned upside down'_ and _'my head aches like hell'_ as she so nicely phrase her feelings and complained about them every five minutes to remind me how terrible my driving skills are.

'_Oh enough about her, I'm out of here any more minute here or I might go insane. Seriously, I can only take so much nagging, now where is that—'_

"Mika, I'm going home now, if you're not going with me than you should just take the—"

My non-existent threat _(of course, I could never leave a ten-year old girl to catch a taxi by herself more so because that ten year-old girl is my daughter)_ halted in my mouth when both me and Kotonami-san were assaulted by the sound of something breaking.

I immediately walked to the direction of the sound which is coming from the room upstairs which as it appears to be is Kotonami-san's room who, by the way is slowly making her way to her room just a couple steps behind me. I'm silently praying that it should be an accident that some strong wind has forcefully knocked whatever it is that have become broken_. 'Please, please whoever up there could here my once in a while pleas, let it be not Mika's fault'_

I was the first who appeared in front of the slightly ajar door and saw Mika on her back kneeling on the side of the bed trying to hide the pieces of the now shattered crystal vase under it, when she saw me an probably Kotonami-san judging by the slight panic in her eyes which was quickly replaced by a flash of guilt before her eyes before it became haughty again, "I didn't mean to do it!" she said hastily while now recovering the pieces from under the bed knowing full well that it's no use to hide them now.

I was about to turn around and apologize to Kotonami-san when I saw that she was already ahead of me and was now kneeling too on the side of the bed and picked up a photo frame lying upside down. Lifting it up, another set of shattered glass pieces has fallen from it causing her fingers to be cut by the sharp glass.

"Ah, Kotonami-san, your hand—"I tried approaching her.

"What did you do?" she asked suddenly in the most somber tone I had ever heard her use with her back still facing us and staring at the photo which is hindered from our view because of her long hair and what's even more scary is we can't see her expression though I could bet that she is really angry right now.

Mika not noticing the slight change in her tone continued to spout off nonsensical excuses, "I didn't do anything! I just looked around and suddenly I heard something breaking…"

"Mika" My voice sounds calm but inside I'm screaming and dying _'stop, just stop saying anything Mika_' I had never once- _'argh, who am I kidding I'm always like this even during times when Ren spouts off totally unromantic things in front of Kyoko when it should be the perfect time to be all heroic' _Anyway back to the situation at hand, I tried stopping her but she continues as if she doesn't hear me.

"Really it's not my fault you're putting fragile things where they could be _accidentally _broken anytime, if it's just the crystal vase I'm sure Dad could arrange to—"

I'm already not hearing anymore of Mika's blabbering, Kotonami-san is still silent and I get the feeling that the photo frame or whatever is in it is precious to her, I'm kind of getting a pretty bad feeling about this. Something that reminds me of a volcano about to erupt, I have to apologize at least "Uh, about the picture…"

"Get out" It was a whisper.

"Excuse me?" I think I heard her the first time but I just had to say the dumbest question in the world and so with tears brimming in front of her eyes and flushed cheeks from controlling her anger, she shouted

"Get out!" We didn't need to hear the same thing thrice and so I dragged myself and Mika out of the door and just as we were out of the door's way, we heard the loud and horrible sound of a door being closed right in front of us. Any harder and the door might have given way.

**A/n: It's hard to write about sad things, events, but for this one I found myself spouting out incidents that I never knew existed at the back of my mind. Ha, I tried editing it a lot of times adding things here and there before I published it since I noticed when I tried rereading this a lot of times. There's always a new thing I can add, basically this story is my practice type of thingy to test what I'm currently learning in writing.**


	10. Chapter 10

As fun as teasing Hio was, I knew I could never pass the chance to tick Kanae's nerves and so after a good half hour of telling him my tried and tested tips, I went home and headed straight for Kanae's house. Not only is she more sensitive, she is easily roused by the smallest of things. After that, I asked my manager to let me off by my own this time since I do not have any further engagements, I wore my favorite cap and glasses and pulled down my hair to look and to blend in like the rest of the high school students in the crowd.

A good thirty minutes later, I was at her home but all thoughts of teasing her were gone. I was a little, okay, more than a little worried ever since her runaway groom incident that one of these days she just might snap and literally take out her- whoa, whoa, whoa, stop! My inner actress is rearing its ugly head and giving me these worst assumptions ever. For a good five seconds, I calmed myself and went inside. Though the room was not lit, I've been here enough to know where the switches are, so I breathed a sigh of relief when my vision confirmed that nothing was torn, shredded, or even out of place.

However that new information did nothing to alleviate ALL of my fears. Kanae is a private person so probably she is in her room. After hastily taking the stairs two at a time, my former thought was verified.

"Kotonami-san, what happened?" Seeing blood and broken glass with her lying on the ground face down, and long, black hair covering her face made me automatically assumed the worst. _'You stupid, stupid, stupid woman! He's just one guy why would you even think of doing that?'_

I took her hand and thanked whatever god out there that her pulse is beating and whole. The blood was apparently by a cut, that much is obvious and she was just asleep. Another sigh of relief, I immediately dusted the broken glass and dipped my handkerchief in the tap in her kitchen and started wiping her wounds. That was when I saw the picture she was clenching in her hand. Just like that, my initial prejudices vanished replaced by something I could only describe as pity. Pity for this woman who was rejected in the most horrible way possible yet couldn't keep contained the fact that she was deeply affected by it no matter how she want to show others that she's not.

***Yashiro's house***

The journey on the way home was very quiet, I was eyeing Mika from my peripheral vision and although she tried not to be bothered by Kotonami-san screaming at her, she was. I really want to comfort her but I'm not so sure what to say so I just opted to be quiet.

As soon as we got home though, it seems her silence mode finally reach its limitations, I only managed to see a glimpse of my living room before she was all over my face, rambling, "It's not my fault Dad. I didn't know that vase was important to her! If there was something that important, shouldn't she have locked the door? And why was she even shouting at me? I'm not a- "

Before she could kill herself from talking a mile a minute, I put my hand on her shoulder, kneeled, looked her in the eye and with the gentleness and father-like sincerity I never knew I possessed, I said… "Mika, it's not your fault. Kotonami-san is just… -" _actually I kind of get the gist of what happened, no thanks to nosy people who spread the rumors _"… experiencing some unavoidable circumstance. If you want, I can apologize with you, do you want that?"

Mika need not to say anything for me to know that she liked the idea, but being the brat that she is, she just shrugged off and in a haughty manner mumbled, "Just to be clear, I'm not saying sorry cause I didn't do it…"

My eyebrow raised a bit at that, then she added, "…intentionally, there's a difference Dad." before she strutted off to get a change of clothes on my spare room which is now officially her 'territory' as she called it.

"Whatever you say Mika, Whatever you say…." I smiled to myself before I dragged my feet to the kitchen to prepare for our dinner. For a fleeting moment, the thought that being a dad isn't that too bad crossed my mind.

**********Kill me now, its been 3 years since my last update, I should be killed T_T. When I opened my account, I was surprised, someone was reading this still, so I thought it wouldn't kill me to just finish it whenever I have time. Yeah, I know you probably think it will take another five years for me to continue this but don't worry, it will probably be just days.*************


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

**All my thanks to lovely reviewers who have taken their time to say a few encouraging words to me: Kumioko, anon(finally), beauty's black7, and Interested Fan. My original plan was to complete this but I guess, since I'm slow I'll just post this one I finish just now, continue reviewing it motivates me :D I already have the outline but I need dialogues and scenes to fill it and make it I don't know fit into the story? Any suggestions, I'm open, lol :D**

Chiori POV

I was on my way outside with my hands on the doorknob after sweeping every single shard from the broken picture inside Kanae's room. I felt like this should be her alone time and so after cleaning up the mess, I've decided to go home but just as easily, I felt a presence behind me which made me to turn around and see Kanae with her hands full of… _how should I describe this_, …memories.

"Is that-?" A nod from her was all I need to confirm my suspicions that indeed, finally the day have come for her to finally let go. From where I'm standing, I could see a huge white teddy bear, some dried flowers, cards, necklace, cute trinkets and basically every single thing that good-for-nothing guy gave to her, she held it tightly, grabbed something from the kitchen counter and went straight for the backyard. There she dumped everything in one pile, "Wait, Kanae-chan, are you sure about this?"

A match lit up and thrown into the pile was what I got as an answer. I figured it was not the right time for me to talk and so we stood there, watching the flames eat everything. In about fifteen minutes, we were staring at a little black mountain of ashes. She was the first to break the silence, with a smile that could only be described as half-forced, half-relieved; she turned around and said… "Thank you for putting up with my drama, Chiori. Now I'm done, want to go grab something to eat?"

"I'd like to but you don't cook do you?"

"Who said anything about cooking? There's delivery for that, I'll just order Chinese"

She was walking towards the phone when I suddenly got the most childish idea that I know would surely perk her up even just for a bit. "The first one to get to the phone will have dibs on what we're going to order, I call pizza! Oh and a bucketful of ice cream too~" I tapped her on the shoulder and run as if my life depended on it.

It took her a while but she finally understood what I meant so she also started running, screaming all over the place, "Chiori! Get your butt over here, I don't fucking eat sweets!"

"I'm sorry. Did you just mention a dozen donuts and a black forest cake?"

"Come back here, don't twist my words, you food monster!"

"Catch me if you can slowpoke!"

For an actress, her unnatural and forced claim to say that everything's all right now is as fake as some of the boobs of female idols in the industry but because she's my good friend, I'll tolerate it and get along if that's what is needed for her to get over this ordeal. Even if we have two do it as two crazed monkeys who just got out of their cage in a race to go to her room where the only working landline is currently sitting beside her nightstand.

********Aww, I wish I had a friend like that, someone who would cheer me up! TO my reviewers, you already are that kind of friend to me, review makes me stronger and write faster :D********


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

**My laptop just came back for repair TT_TT. So, it took a long time for me to update…**

**Kanae's POV**

I always go to bed late at night and always realize it's a bad idea every morning. Chinese was so good last night. I just thought it was a shame that we were not drinking something so we drank all the beer cans in the fridge.

"Oi, Chiori could you check who's downstairs?" I prod the body next to mine using my foot to wake up the other girl, but to no avail. To all of this woman's bragging that she's been to countless drinking parties, she's a freaking light weight! And so the night ended up with me finishing all the remaining beer cans myself. Don't judge me, I'm not an alcoholic, I'm just… …economical.

With the world hammering into my head, I put all my force into pushing back the sheets which magically every morning seemed to cling to my body like spider webs that doesn't want to let go of their prey. Okay, pretty bad analogy, don't tell me I know!

I have to get up, counting mentally_, in1… 2… FUCK! _

In my hurry, I stub the thumb of my foot in the edge of the bed and a string of wonderful words flowed from my mouth like poetry would to Shakespeare. And as if that wasn't enough, a certain sloppy girl managed to put an unfinished open Chinese food lying on the living room that in my rush to get to the door, I fortunately step on, which made my irate mode almost reach its limit.

Self-reminder, from now on, no more drinking if I have work the next day, I swear.

So it's not really surprising that when I reached the door, a very upset me is what greeted a blob of noodle-orange hair.

"Mouko-san!~ Good morning"

Oh, let me correct that, a blob of noodle orange hair that is radiating with so much damn energy this early in the morning. I've never been a morning person and so I said what I usually say to her, "There is not and never will be anything good about mornings"

I never really believe that I could infect Kyouko with my sour mood that's why I wasn't all that surprise when she brushed off my morning default-mode by saying… "Oh, But there is!" with a twinkle in her eye, that usually signals a not so good thing for me.

" And that is?" I tried to dig through my mind for possible good thing that she could tell me, but found none.

"You didn't know, its-…"

Before Kyoko could produce an answer in the midst of her mother hen mode, I couldn't tell when but during our conversation she managed to walk towards my kitchen with two large grocery bags as if it was her own home, Chiori woke up.

"Oh, Kyoko-chan's here~!"She must have noticed the food that Master Chef Kyoko is preparing so she immediately took the nearest spot in the kitchen counter, "Good timing, I'm actually pretty hungry, so what's for breakfast?"

"Good morning, Amamiya-san! Its-…"

"…Something delicious that you probably will not be able to taste" I grab her by her frilly pink nightwear. '_God, doesn't she get sick of that color, we wear that every damn day for the last six months!'_

"Don't you have somewhere to go, like let me guess… your OWN DAMN HOME, perhaps?"

"Wha~ Kanae-chan, is this how you repay for how I've comforted you yesterday?" She said playfully, while putting her clenched fists to her eyes as if she's crying. A stunt she believes everyone will fall for, but nowadays I simply roll my eyes with her and her theatrics.

"Yes, yes, I feel so comforted thank you very much! Now go home!" I grabbed her shoes and none too gently throw it to her.

And of course, Kyoko, being the ever loving saint that she is, offered, "Amamiya-san, I'll just packed a bento for you if you want. You have to be early today right?"

"WAAAH~ Kyoko-chan is the best!" She hugged the former and looked at me then added; "Unlike a certain someone" before she burst out running through the door because she knows I'll be right at her back. _Why that ungrateful… I ought to…_

"Spit out the Chinese I fed you last night, right this instant!"

"Can't bye bye!, I'm going! I'm going! Kyoko-chan, I like my eggs salty okay?"

still on **KANAE"S POV **

A minute later, I plopped down on the seat previously occupied by Chiori. Funny, how she as the first of us to sleep because of the liquor was as perky as if she wasn't drunk at all.

Then it occurred to me, like a flickered light to a dimly-lit room. _Wait a minute! So that's what happened! Why that manipulative son of a…._ I was in the middle of cursing my scheming Love-me colleague slash friend that I almost missed it when Kyoko spoke while preparing my, er, our breakfast.

"Are you not going to prepare? You only have an hour left, before they come here"

"Prepare for what?"

"Today, you're audition results are coming out" She said it in such a plain its-a-fact tone of voice that I nearly brushed it off.

"Oh, it's just the audition- THE AUDITION RESULTS ARE OUT! I thought those were coming out on Friday."

"They told me, and oh Mouko-san…" she tapped her wrist, indicating the time, "you might want to start getting dressed now"

"Right, yeah…" _Oh my God, it's only an hour, where was my dress again? And what shoes will I wear? Will heels be too much?_ I was so much in panic mode that I forgot to ask her who was the **'they'** she was mentioning earlier.

**KANAE'S POV **

Now that I've already worn my lucky baby blue dress that just screams summer and young femininity while putting a cream blazer over it to still retain that elegant professionalism that I always try to maintain, correction, which** I always have** wherever I go, my mind can now ponder over pretty serious matters. Like for example, _why the hell am I riding in Tsuruga Ren's car again?_

I was about to ask Kyoko but she is currently engaged in a very heated discussion with Tsuruga and his manager about the recurring issue of this guy missing his lunch for the what, the 5th time already. If I know better, and I freaking well do, this is merely a ploy for my naïve best friend to be caught in to be forced to cook for him. Like really, whose brilliant idea was it for her to cook for this domestically inept but totally in-demand actor.

Doesn't he have a manager? Oh right, I slipped a glance to my left. He's manager is a guy, though from the way he looks, I think he's someone who knows his way around the kitchen so my guess was right, he just wants to have Kyoko's home made dish, like who wouldn't right?

But to be honest, I'm getting bored, it's already twenty minutes and it's like they're only having a three way conversation as if I don't exist. I would've butt in like 9 minutes ago but that would just make me rude and I am anything but that.

And mind you, it's not as if I want to join (because I certainly don't), the least they could do is ask me, something out of courtesy or something right?

Oh well, if they don't want to talk to me, might as well sleep since I need all the energy that I could gather after the audition results for all the ridiculous love me requests that I'll be getting. Sometimes I still can't wrap my head around it. The fact that even after we debuted, Chiori, Kyoko and I, actually stayed in the Love Me department.

Believe it or not, we ARE learning something there, no matter how small or insignificant the job is. By the way, people don't give a lot of odd requests anymore, maybe because we're famous now or something. I don't know.

I was about to close my eyes and slip off to la-la-Land, when the oh-so sensitive Tsuruga himself tried to make small talk with me.

"Do you mind if I ask you a question, Kotonami-san?"

I made a mental eye roll, _you're already asking a question anyways,_ I was about to say that but I stopped myself cause Kotonami Kanae is a lot of things but rude is not one of them.

I smiled genially and asked, "Yes, what is it, Tsuruga-san?"

"Are you in a hurry to go to LME? Because if you don't mind, I need to drop by studio 3 to give Director Ichiya a visit"

"Well…I guess, if you really are in a hurry I could spare some… " I sneaked a millisecond glance at my clock 5:45, only 15 more minutes before the set time, would I be able to make it? Before I could answer, four eyes beside me beat me to it.

"Ren, that isn't part of the schedule today, you could just visit him later after all the appointments are done"

"Yashiro-san is right, you should follow the schedule, he'll be the one to take the blame if you're not able to go to a specific location at the proper time" It was Kyouko this time, sounding all concerned and supportive for a moment, I thought Tsuruga would change his mind about visiting this Director.

"Uhm, Kyouko-chan, that will indeed happen but you don't have to put it that way, I can handle it, it's part of my job description as his manager after all."

Tsuruga himself was seriously thinking about it…"And what time Yashiro-san do you figure I'll be able to finish my appointments for today? 9 pm, 10 pm?"

A mini-planner was whipped out so fast and within 3 seconds four eyes, spread out his palm forming the number one.

_ 'One o'clock, I guess the great Tsuruga Ren isn't popular anymore if he could finish all his jobs for seven hours even less than an average Japanese worker'_ I found myself being a little bit arrogant about the fact that my job isn't going to be done until later than 7pm this evening. _'I'm that popular, take that Tsuruga'_

"You do know, I can't visit Director Ichiya at that time past midnight. I also have to sleep"

Please bury me now. I've never been so humiliated in my life. Thank God for not inventing an instrument that could read mind-speak.

I was so floored over my own thoughts that I barely heard Tsuruga speak…"Kotonami-san, I'll be heading over there now, is it okay?"

"Huh? Ah, Oh yeah, I see, no it's fine, You could just drop me off here, It's just a five minute walk to LME from here" I was about to ask Kyouko to come with me but this really is not my lucky day cause Mr. In-Demand-slash-Popular actor on the driver seat told her that Director Ichiya has his sights set on the latter ever since he had seen her performance in Tsukigomori.

If that sparkle on Kyouko's eyes is anything to go by. I guess I'll be walking on my own to my audition huh? So much for the lunch date with Kyouko, as a simple celebratory party for being chosen as the female lead

Yeah, I'm that confident, sue me.

_I really, really, really love writing in Kanae's POV. I don't know for some reason I always get attached to side characters of every anime that I watched._


End file.
